Yes, damn you Mr. Vega – that synth punk stuff may have seemed quirky and obnoxious back in 1977 – but its evolved into this? VOLT are a garage-synth trio from France that create an enchanting ruckus of programmed drums, buzzing guitars, and unruly vocals. The combined effect is something like early BERLIN meets THE LOST SOUNDS on steroids – you’ll either love it or VOLT will have you running for the door. Sonic temptress Lili Z. smacks you upside the head with hellish programmed percussion and lulls you into her web of sound with coos and squeals in multiple languages, while the remaining members Jack and FX juggle additional layered keys, vocals, shrieks, thuds, and sirens.

The production and mixing steers clear of the low levels and flat dynamics that plague some of the MUMMIES-style clone bands clogging up the genre. The electronic percussion sends these songs bounding out to greet and offend. The guitar tones are as obnoxious as one can imagine, without the cringe-inducing raspiness you may be expecting.

Standout tracks include the jostly, twitchy stops and starts of “86 Friends”, the KRAFTWERK-ishly repetitive “Green Eyes” and the ingenious chromatic simplicity and brain-mashing guitar chords of opener “Chinese Bite”. It’s a shame VOLT wasn’t around in the early 1980s – this would have been the perfect music for the “Weird Science” and “Breakfast Club” soundtracks. So if you're tired of the same old vocals-through-the-amp garage rock shtick and need your batteries charged, grab this disc and up the...um, voltage. Sorry, couldn't resist. Yet another winner for In The Red.

- Marchman

OFFICIAL SITE: myspace.com/voltklub

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