Eclectic acts CSS and The Go! Team pump up the Troc

Lovefoxx, the singer of the Brazilian sextet CSS, took the stage of the Trocadero on Thursday night in a skintight bodysuit topped with a feather-boa vest, an outfit that neatly encapsulates the band's blend of minimalism and overkill.

The best songs from their self-titled first album, like the iPod-commercialed "Music is My Hot Hot Sex," thrive on an irresistible combination of skeletal beats and the singer's over-the-top persona. Combining pidgin braggadocio with one-finger synth riffs, the group's songs at times recall the stripped-down electro-funk of hip-hop pioneers like Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash.

Relocated to London with a slightly shuffled lineup, CSS (the name is short for Cansei de Ser Sexy, Portuguese for "tired of being sexy," a remark allegedly uttered by Beyoncé) recently emerged with their second album, Donkey, which is darker, more layered, and sometimes less engrossing than their eponymous debut. The songs trade ingratiating naivete for indie-rock sludge.

On "Rat Is Dead (Rage)," the threefold guitars blended into an impenetrable murk. "Jager Yoga," which proclaims kinship with the excess of John Waters and AbFab, was dragged down by bottom-heavy synths and monotonous group vocals. When they pared things back, on the loping "Left Behind" or "Let's Reggae All Night," it was as if a fog had cleared.

The Go! Team have a lot in common with CSS: a six-piece lineup, a pseudonymous lead singer, a home country, even a record label. But their aesthetic is pure maximalism.

Their kitchen-sink songs incorporate sounds as diverse as the tinkle of a glockenspiel and the blare of '70s cop-show horns, topped with double-dutch rhymes from a singer named Ninja. Manning two drum kits as well as guitars, keyboards, and the occasional banjo, the band members switched instruments after every song, but the mercurial lineup never sapped their set of energy or coherence. As befits their name, exclamation point and all, they hit the ground running and never stopped.

The two opening bands demonstrated their own distinct but simpatico takes on indie dance-rock. The Brooklyn duo Matt and Kim made up in enthusiasm what they lacked in skill, with blurting synths, squeaky vocals, and drumming that was ferocious if not exactly steady. After singer Matt Johnson made a successful attempt to surf the crowd, he tumbled back on stage beaming and out of breath. "I can't believe that worked," he gasped.

The Seattle five-piece Natalie Portman's Shaved Head may have a terrible name (on second thought, strike the "may"), but they've got catchy, enjoyably goofy songs as well, including "Beard Lust" and "Sophisticated Side Ponytail." Even when they weren't singing about hair, they won over the early-bird crowd with a mix of giddy bravado and sheer gratitude.