American Hi-Fi
American Hi-Fi
February 27, 2001
Island
American Hi-Fi
February 27, 2001
Island
American Hi-Fi debuts with a self-titled album. The raw, slightly punky rock that sends us slight reminders of The Cars, Cheap Trick & The Jam has enough energy and catchiness to do well on radio.
Surround
The high-energy opener Surround has a bit of Foo Fighter-like spirit with driving guitars. American Hi-Fi, though not the most original band out there is obviously a band that’s enjoying what they’re doing and they’re doing it well. The fun and energy make up for that plenty.
Flavor of the Weak
The monster hit Flavor of the Weak has some good hooks and riffs that bring the sound that is so typical for American Hi-Fi. I said they probably aren’t the most original band out there, but even though you could say they sound similar to other bands, they don’t exactly sound alike. They do have some sort of signature sound. And this song is their signature song.
A Bigger Mood
I’ve always enjoyed A Bigger Mood without being too sold on it. It’s a decent track with great energy (that’s something you don’t have to teach AHF), but it never really got to me.
Safer On The Outside
Safer On The Outside is one of my favorite tracks on this solid debut album. The haunting sound, the slowed down pace, the build up of momentum, this song is very well composed and it kinda reminds me of some Nirvana vs. Pixies, with the softer/louder contrast in the song.
I’m A Fool
I’ve never really been a fan of this song. It came across as “trying too much” for me. I quite easily discarded this as another Blink182, Sum41, Bowling For Soup, Fountains of Wayne, etc. pop/punk/rock song that’s fun but nothing special.
Hi-Fi Killer
Hi-Fi Killer on the contrary, is a great song, amazing energy, great vocals, very good drums and driving guitars. All you dodos who say this isn’t anything special, well fine that’s your opinion, I don’t agree. It’s a gutsy song, kinda like The Cars on fire topped off with some moder-day rock.
Blue Day
American Hi-Fi brings in too much decoration in this song. Stripped down without all the craziness this song, essentially, actually has potential, but it kinda drowns in the music.
My Only Enemy
This is another typical American Hi-Fi song. At times the building up parts take a bit long, and it’s not a song that I can listen to over and over again, but it’s a good song. At times a bit of a harder rock song, but it works for the band.
Don’t Wait For The Sun
This song is nominated for my favorite song off the album. Lyrically there’s no doubt it’s my favorite “Don’t wait for the sun/It could turn black any day/I lost my head in the clouds/When will the haze go away/I never wanted this”. The softer vocals and the gentler played instruments that come up a little more during the choruses are perfectly placed to emphasize this song in the right places. When the song passes the 2-minute mark, the music becomes louder and brings the song into an epic conclusion.
Another Perfect Day
The (semi-)acoustic build-up in Another Perfect Day is a nice change of pace. It brings out Stacy Jones’ vocals a lot better than the massive guitars in the other songs. It’s a good sing-along. The song gets more layers as it progresses and this works very well. The main focus stays on the vocals which is a good thing, because they carry the song.
Scar
Scar with the hard rock/metal-like intro (don’t get me wrong, it’s not hard rock nor metal, just kinda influenced by it) might scare away some listeners that might actually really enjoy this song. Because this song has an old-school Goo Goo Dolls feel to me. It has the same melodic qualities and yet it’s pure rock. The cheeky, bold rock is passionately performed, but very Goo Goo Dolls-like, which I am not sure yet if it is a good thing or not.
What About Today
I got a deja vu feeling with this song. It reminded me of another band, but it took me a couple of hours to realize it reminded me of Feeder. There are a few parts in this song that remind me of them. It doesn’t sound like a Feeder song but there are similarities. And unlike the last song, I can say that this is definitely a good thing. Because in this case it measn there’s something to recognize yet it sounds like a new song. I love this song and it’s on my regular playlist.
Wall Of Sound
At times this song does justice to its title. It’s just a Wall of Sound sometimes and the actual song gets lost in that. I’m assuming this was done on purpose, but I still think it’s too bad. That’s not to say this is a bad song. Not at all. It’s a really decent song.
I might have come across fairly critical at times, but I enjoyed this album quite a lot. American Hi-Fi takes the stage with confidence and energy. With clever and cheeky rock songs that have enough pop-ability to convince the average radio listener, they are here to please many people. Their self-titled debut tastes like more and I, for one, cannot wait until their next album is released.
Surround
The high-energy opener Surround has a bit of Foo Fighter-like spirit with driving guitars. American Hi-Fi, though not the most original band out there is obviously a band that’s enjoying what they’re doing and they’re doing it well. The fun and energy make up for that plenty.
Flavor of the Weak
The monster hit Flavor of the Weak has some good hooks and riffs that bring the sound that is so typical for American Hi-Fi. I said they probably aren’t the most original band out there, but even though you could say they sound similar to other bands, they don’t exactly sound alike. They do have some sort of signature sound. And this song is their signature song.
A Bigger Mood
I’ve always enjoyed A Bigger Mood without being too sold on it. It’s a decent track with great energy (that’s something you don’t have to teach AHF), but it never really got to me.
Safer On The Outside
Safer On The Outside is one of my favorite tracks on this solid debut album. The haunting sound, the slowed down pace, the build up of momentum, this song is very well composed and it kinda reminds me of some Nirvana vs. Pixies, with the softer/louder contrast in the song.
I’m A Fool
I’ve never really been a fan of this song. It came across as “trying too much” for me. I quite easily discarded this as another Blink182, Sum41, Bowling For Soup, Fountains of Wayne, etc. pop/punk/rock song that’s fun but nothing special.
Hi-Fi Killer
Hi-Fi Killer on the contrary, is a great song, amazing energy, great vocals, very good drums and driving guitars. All you dodos who say this isn’t anything special, well fine that’s your opinion, I don’t agree. It’s a gutsy song, kinda like The Cars on fire topped off with some moder-day rock.
Blue Day
American Hi-Fi brings in too much decoration in this song. Stripped down without all the craziness this song, essentially, actually has potential, but it kinda drowns in the music.
My Only Enemy
This is another typical American Hi-Fi song. At times the building up parts take a bit long, and it’s not a song that I can listen to over and over again, but it’s a good song. At times a bit of a harder rock song, but it works for the band.
Don’t Wait For The Sun
This song is nominated for my favorite song off the album. Lyrically there’s no doubt it’s my favorite “Don’t wait for the sun/It could turn black any day/I lost my head in the clouds/When will the haze go away/I never wanted this”. The softer vocals and the gentler played instruments that come up a little more during the choruses are perfectly placed to emphasize this song in the right places. When the song passes the 2-minute mark, the music becomes louder and brings the song into an epic conclusion.
Another Perfect Day
The (semi-)acoustic build-up in Another Perfect Day is a nice change of pace. It brings out Stacy Jones’ vocals a lot better than the massive guitars in the other songs. It’s a good sing-along. The song gets more layers as it progresses and this works very well. The main focus stays on the vocals which is a good thing, because they carry the song.
Scar
Scar with the hard rock/metal-like intro (don’t get me wrong, it’s not hard rock nor metal, just kinda influenced by it) might scare away some listeners that might actually really enjoy this song. Because this song has an old-school Goo Goo Dolls feel to me. It has the same melodic qualities and yet it’s pure rock. The cheeky, bold rock is passionately performed, but very Goo Goo Dolls-like, which I am not sure yet if it is a good thing or not.
What About Today
I got a deja vu feeling with this song. It reminded me of another band, but it took me a couple of hours to realize it reminded me of Feeder. There are a few parts in this song that remind me of them. It doesn’t sound like a Feeder song but there are similarities. And unlike the last song, I can say that this is definitely a good thing. Because in this case it measn there’s something to recognize yet it sounds like a new song. I love this song and it’s on my regular playlist.
Wall Of Sound
At times this song does justice to its title. It’s just a Wall of Sound sometimes and the actual song gets lost in that. I’m assuming this was done on purpose, but I still think it’s too bad. That’s not to say this is a bad song. Not at all. It’s a really decent song.
I might have come across fairly critical at times, but I enjoyed this album quite a lot. American Hi-Fi takes the stage with confidence and energy. With clever and cheeky rock songs that have enough pop-ability to convince the average radio listener, they are here to please many people. Their self-titled debut tastes like more and I, for one, cannot wait until their next album is released.
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