Following up their 2006 release We Are Pilots, Shiny Toy Guns blindly gropes for success with their fourth studio effort, Season of Poison.

Strangely enough, the other three albums from this band were all versions of the same album, We Are Pilots. In this respect, a new CD from them is almost committing treason to the essence of Shiny Toy Guns.

Having departed in another direction from We Are Pilots, most of the songs are slower, with a more indie feel than the electronic hits like “Le Disko” and “Don’t Cry Out.” More influence from rock roots are felt, and the female vocals of Sisely Treasure do not hit quite like those of Carah Faye Charnow, who was unceremoniously booted out of the band by the male members.

The only track that retains some of their previous sound is the single “Ricochet!” With its simple electronic beats, both male and female vocals layered over a combination of keyboard and guitar, this track almost sounds like a reject from “We Are Pilots.”

The effect of switching vocalists in bands is never good. Where repetitious lyrics were once interesting to hear from this band, repeating just the word “love” in Season of Love is annoying and frankly might make a listener want to shoot the band.

By the eighth song on the album, only one hit has been heard, and Shiny Toy Guns is attempting to move into the more atmospheric part of their genre. In short, Season of Poison has a formula that the band applies to every song: a soft intro, a bit of guitar, a chant and then close.

While this may work for other bands, it can’t cut it for Shiny Toy Guns and the overall effect is that Season of Poison blows big baby chunks.

Not one song on Season of Poison is like any of the hits on We Are Pilots. To some artists, new sounds might be a good thing, but Shiny Toy Guns should have remembered their roots and provided the listener with something a bit more classic instead of going for classy and contemporary.