American Hi-Fi
April 12, 2005
Maverick
1. Maybe Won’t Do
Maybe Won’t Do is the perfect opening track. It’s potential single material. Fiesty drums and energetic guitars set a great mood for a great song. Stacey Jones’ vocals are splendid, as always. He brings the beautiful lyrics of this song to life. The bass makes it all sound complete and this song should be considered one of the jewels on the album.
2. Hell Yeah!
This is a very creative track and you shouldn’t judge it after you only listened to it once or twice. It starts off very promising and Stacey’s vocals are excellent again. American Hi-Fi builds up the excitement very good. Even though the drums & guitar sound repetitive they just change the pace before you get bored with it and then with the chorus the song explodes and finds a moment of rest at the end with the Hell Yeah and then it starts over again. Too bad the song doesn’t have more variation in it but the vocals and melodic guitar rhythm gets it to a higher level. And the bridge is phenomonal.
3. Geeks Get The Girls
A perfect pic for a single, which is what AHF did. It’s not rocketing on the charts yet but it’s doing pretty well and it’s getting steady. It’s a typical AHF song. It reminds me of Flavour of the Weak & The Art of Losing their other hit songs. This could well be their comeback to the rock scene. I’ve embraced the song as well as the album. Very energetic song, nice distortion, well produced. And Stacey’s vocals again fit to the music. Drums are a bit weak maybe but they fit to the song. Bass keeps the song in a steady rhythm. I also love the keys that are in it sometimes. Gives it a nice touch.
4. Something Real
This song is my absolute favorite on the album. With hints to bands such as Something Corporate & Weezer, this song starts out with a piano intro which is absolutely breathtaking. Not cause it’s so hard to play but because it sets the mood of the song. Then the song gets going with the drums & guitars that bring a lot of enthusiasm to it and the bass makes it sound as one thing. Stacey sings this flawlessly. It’s just a perfect song. I’d say: NEXT SINGLE!!! It would rocket their name into the hall of fame dudes!
5. We Can’t Be Friends
We Can’t Be Friends shows the diversity of the album. It’s completely different to what we’ve heard before. The song has great vocals and splendid backing vocals. The bass is phenomonal and the pace on the drums is very well produced. The guitars bring the energy like they do on the whole album. Stacey got the best out of his songwriting on this one. Both on the lyrics and the music. It’s very catchy and you can easily sing along to it. This would be the perfect song to end the live set with. Not as encore but end of the regular set. People would rock out on this one. It’s gonna be one of the fans’ favorites I think.
6. Seperation Anxiety
Personally I think Seperation Anxiety has lyrics a lot of people can connect with. But it’s also one of the weaker tracks on the album. Even though it starts very promising with a 70s like intro, I think Stacey’s vocals are a little flat on this one and the drums snow under to the guitar fury. You can hardly hear the bass either. It’s still quite a good song but it’s too much of the same. It could use some extra thing. There’s nothing in this song that lifts it to a higher level. I think it would do extremely well as a live song cause of the energy and the lyrics. But I don’t think it’s gonna be a song that reviewers will praise.
7. Everlasting Fall
The Everlasting Fall starts off with an intro that reminds me of Keane. There are keys in it but the main ingredient is the guitar. Stacey builds up his vocals along with the guitar, bass & drums. Then after the first verse they start again building up the excitement. You feel there’s a climax coming but they keep you waiting for it. You wanna keep listening ’til that climax comes but it’s taking time. And then when you think it’s not coming anymore they change the sound of the song a little. That’s really creative and refreshing. And then, when they get back to the original sound of the song you fall back in the rhythm. It’s a semi-ballad. I think it’s a good song, very creative but that climax I was talking about, I still miss that.
8. Highs & Lows
Really uptempo and great bass lines. Drums are a little flat. The guitar riffs are splendid. Highs & Lows is one of the best tracks on the album. Stacey’s vocals are great and the song never loses it’s strength. The lyrics are really good too. “Nobody really knows the pain but everybody knows your name.” or “Small talk can get you through the day/There’s gotta be a better way.” are examples of that. It wouldn’t fit to be a single but it’s definately an ace song.
9. Baby Come Home
Baby Come Home is potential single material again. It’s really catchy. The guitars & bass really are amazing. And the drums complete the picture. Stacy adds his flawless vocals to it and we have another fabulous song. It makes me want to jump out the window and have fun in the sun. They should release it as a single in the summer. It would take off. I’m sure of that.
10. Where Did We Go Wrong
This is another awesome song. It’s quite uptempo and the drums are phenomenal. Perhaps a good one to open the set with onstage. It would also do well on modern alternative rock radio I think. It’s catchy has great energy-driven guitar riffs and a good rhythmic line on the bass. There’s a sort of guitar solo halfway the song and that’s a pretty cool thing. I love how it perfectly fits in the song and it gives you a moment to breathe while singing along. And to answer Staceys’ question:“All along, so where did we go wrong?” I have the answer:”You didn’t go wrong anywhere!”
11.Hearts On Parade
Is there any better way to end an album than with the title track Hearts On Parade. It’s a beautiful song which would definately be a perfect encore live. The lyrics are fantastic and Stacey’s vocals are, in one word, surreal. The drums are perfect for this song that hovers between a ballad and a rock & roll song. The guitar bring energy, but not too much so that it’s perfect to end the record with. The nanananana at the end is a great way to let the song and album fade to it’s end. It’s just a gorgeous song. Listen to it yourself and tell me I’m right. I know you’ll agree.
All in all it’s a good album with very good and energetic songs. If you look past the production which isn’t disastrous but could definitely have been better (especially knowing Butch Walker’s skills), this record has a lot to offer. Get out your stereo and listen to American Hi-Fi!