This album was always going to get panned; daft Brazilian indie dance combo CSS have gone and done what both the people who liked them and the people who didn't could get pissed with - they started taking the whole music thing seriously.Thousands of little indie types took CSS to their hearts because they were quirky, pretty short on talent, funny looking and easy to dance to if you can't dance. There was a bit of attitude, a lot of energy, a complete lack of polish and people fell easily into love and hate sides - Marmite bands are always onto a winner. Add the fact people thought they'd in some way ‘discovered' them (that was, you know, Sub Pop, and then Xfm et al, I'm afraid, not you, grubby teen internet nerd) and you had an instant cult band - made all the better by their willingness to tour relentlessly and play any tent in a muddy field they could find.But, really, they were a bit crap. They couldn't really play, or write, and the songs were technically crap. Personally I really wanted to like them, but just ducked out of the whole debate because, while I liked the idea of CSS, I couldn't actually find a song I liked. Now I can, and that's where their problems begin.Donkey is mainstream. Very mainstream. While ‘Rat is Dead' is the most blatant Pixies rip off ever (the second is probably ‘Move', which is also on this album - and tries to hide it below some horrible euro pop), and opener ‘Jager Yoga' is a bit quirky and faux aggressive in places ("we came here, to take you out"), the underlying truth of Donkey is it's anything but a plodding, stubborn animal; Thoroughbred would've been a better title. It's official: CSS are now a ‘proper' pop band.So, now, they've alienated the quirky indie brigade. And, by making such a polished album, they've become what the detractors also despise - they're unadulterated pop; no longer ‘alternative' at all. They're on Warner over here, not Sub Pop, which tells its own story. Any semblance of cool has gone and, quite frankly, they're a lot better for it. It may not be cool to say it, but Donkey is actually a really good album. Sorry.I expect they'll ride out the inevitable backlash. Tracks like the aforementioned ‘Rat is Dead', the Elastica pop of ‘Give Up' and ‘Left Behind' and the infectious daftness of ‘Lets Reggae All Night' should help the transition of audience go smoothly, as a more mainstream crowd picks up the pieces from the bedroom teens. And why not? They didn't own them.Elastica is an interesting reference point, I think. Riding to brief fame on the back of Blur and Suede's coat tails, they were immediately polished, signed to a major, and accepted as such. Hopefully the same fate will await CSS once all the pathetic gnashing of teeth, finger pointing and "I told you so" protestations die down. 78%Links CSS [myspace]