CSS

Fri., Dec. 19, 9 p.m.-3:30 a.m., Transit, 600 Spring Garden St., igetrvng.com.

by M.J. Fine

rock/pop

You've gotta love bona fide Brazilian girls who can revive L7's "Pretend We're Dead" as a party jam and bridge the gap between Sleater-Kinney and Jennifer Lopez with their own "I Wanna Be Your J. Lo." But with Donkey (Sub Pop), CSS moves beyond the bratty, repetitive dancefloor fillers and carefully frayed edges that hooked early boosters. It's a slicker affair than 2006's Cansei de Ser Sexy, with fewer hipster slogans and more complicated snapshots of friendships in flux. "Let's Reggae All Night" hangs on a lot of ifs, but it's the one moment when everyone's cool and everything's happy; the rest are fraught with insecurity, with outcomes ranging from low-key manipulation to bloody revenge. Though the group's jagged pop and electrofunk is more straightforward this time, Adriano Cintra — primary songwriter, utility player and token boy — is still capable of putting wonderfully weird words into singer Lovefoxxx's mouth. Her accent makes even first-album staples like "rude," "bitch" and "sucks" sound adorable, so you can imagine how a line like "I'm a black-eyed raccoon/ working from the moon," goes over on "Air Painter," Donkey's sweet closer. Even when the emotional distance is greatest, CSS is relentless in its quest to bring bodies together.

Fri., Dec. 19, 8 p.m., $18.50, with Hey Willpower, TLA, 334 South St., 215-922-1011, livenation.com.

CSS is now playing the Making Time $2 Bill Holiday Freakout. Fri., Dec. 19, 9 p.m.-3:30 a.m., Transit, 600 Spring Garden St., igetrvng.com.