CSS, Heaven, London

The lights dim, the crowd roars. Stepping onto the stage we see the silhouette of someone with an extraordinarily large afro and what appear to be shoulder pads. An opening chord is struck at the exact moment the lights flash over the heads of the crowd, bringing with it a gasp from myself as I realise the afro-ed silhouette is none other than lead singer Lovefoxxx, complete with leather jacket and fishnet tights.

After spending the entirety of the first song concerned that the care-free, fun-loving CSS I had known from back in the days of ‘Music Is My Hot Hot Sex’ and ‘Off The Hook’ had turned into an angry punk band, I was relieved when the both the wig and jacket were discarded end-song. Playing a mixture of songs from all three of their albums, Lovefoxxx and co. continually express their delight at being in London, with the lead singer proclaiming that the UK capital is truly “somewhere you can be yourself.” So comfortable, in fact, is our favourite Brazilian lead singer, that she continues to peel off layers of clothes over the course of the set, revealing no less than five different outfits - metamorphosing in front of our eyes. Coupled with two bouts of stage-diving and a round of limbo, conducted with a microphone wire and guitarist Luiza Sá.

Despite there clearly being a large number of die-hard CSS fans in attendance, it’s songs from the Brazilian band’s first album, ‘Cansei de Ser Sexy’, which get the most rapturous response, with ‘Alala’ and ‘Let’s Make Love And Listen To Death From Above’ noteworthy crowdpleasers. Despite CSS having dropped off my own personal radar for quite some time, I was pleased to see the Sao Paolo-based hipsters on top form and ready to boot London up the arse with their blend of electro-rocky goodness.