West Indian Girl

“Let’s trip tonight,” sings Robert James of Los Angeles-based electronic-savvy pop band West Indian Girl on “Trip.” It’s a welcome invitation from an act named after a potent strain of LSD. And, as the opening cut on the crew’s debut effort, it’s one that promises exotic new sonic territory. But West Indian Girl rarely sounds particularly fresh, and things don’t really progress from there. “What Are You Afraid Of,” a mile-wide soundscape of six-eight acoustic strumming, echoing electric guitar (à la the Edge) and electronic frizzle supporting James’ drowsy, nasal tenor, sounds almost exactly like “Green,” a whole eight tracks away. Sure, there are a few brief lysergic moments (the dreamy, finger-picked, Francis Ten-sung “Leave Tonight”). But, on the whole, this is the aural equivalent of bunk dope.