The Volta Sound look to the psilocybin-ized past for their key inspiration, reaching back to the '60s and early '70s for a blissed-out
Pink Floyd vibe or to the first half of the '90s for a dose of good ol'
Spacemen 3 and
Ride-style space rock. Unfortunately, if you've heard anything by those bands or
the Dandy Warhols and
the Brian Jonestown Massacre -- who are this relatively new Cleveland, OH, band's twin West Coast inspirations -- there's nothing here you haven't heard before. Several tracks -- "My All American Girl," "Sunshine," and "No Control" -- could've been outtakes from
Brian Jonestown Massacre sessions; in fact, as a vocalist Mike Cormier favors the same breathy, deadpan vocals that listeners have come to expect from
Brian Jonestown Massacre shaman
Anton Newcombe. "High" is just what you'd expect from its title, a
Pink Floyd-ish meditation with under-amped guitars and zonked-out vocals, while the jagged, sawtooth guitars of "Right up to You" sound like something
the Jesus & Mary Chain could have tossed off without much thought. Once the Volta Sound stop walking around in another band's moccasins and develop their own sound instead of replicating and re-creating sounds they love, they'll be on their way to creating something of substance. Until then, listeners have yet another patchouli rock pastiche, with plenty of hip-shakin' tambourines and fuzzy guitars for everyone. ~ Bryan Thomas