| Product: |
The Art Of Losing - American Hi-Fi |
| Date: |
27/05/07 (154 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Pop Punk that should not be ignored.
Disadvantages: None at all really!
American Hi-Fi hit the world of pop/punk and rock ’n’ roll with the self-titled first album back in 2001. formed by Stacy Jones after he left Letters To Cleo (probably only known over here as the band playing on the rooftop at the end of the film “Ten Things I Hate About You”) to go his own way.
While doing a reasonable amount of business in their native country, the band hails from Boston USA, they also struck it big over here with the albums stand out track – ‘Flavor of The Week’, a song written after seeing how a good friend of the bands was being treated by her ‘boyfriend’ through extensive play on Virgin, where I discovered it and the band, it finally charted in the top 40 here.
Two years later the second album appeared amongst an enormous wave of….. well indifference and apathy, from record company and buyers alike! I loved the first album, looked at the bands website every so often and had no idea that the second was coming out in the UK. I was just pure luck I spotted it in a local music emporium, and at the bargain price of £8.99 I was sure it must have been out for ages.
But no not only was it a new release but that was the RRP set by the record label Island, who obviously had no faith in the album selling at a normal price!
Something they really should not have worried because “The Art of Losing” is every bit as good as the first album! It has more potential hits than “American Hi-Fi” and is musically more accomplished.
The Band –
Stacy Jones – Guitar, vocals
James Arentzen – Guitar, vocals
Drew Parsons – Bass, vocals
Brian Nolan – Drums, vocals
“You call me a loser,
Say I’m just a user,
But I’ll just keep on moving,
Coz that’s the art of Losing”
The Art of Losing opens up with the title track, beginning with an Adam and the Ants drum sound before exploding into a guitar riffing aural delight. Great lyrics and vocals make this a terrific start to the album and it continues as the band power their way into track 2 – ‘The Breakup Song’.
Another blistering attack of melodic, punk rock ‘The Breakup Song’ starts off with a slower pace, a rhythmic drum and guitar sound that builds and builds to a crescendo as the lyrics hit the chorus. Roaring melodic guitar, crashing drums and vocals blasting out of your speakers!
‘Beautiful Disaster’ completes the opening salvo of hard rocking songs. American Hi-Fi know what their fans want to hear and have dutifully supplied it with this powerful trio.
“Don’t hang around,
Don’t call my friends,
They wont know who you are!”
‘Save Me’ brings in a slower pace, not a ballad in any way shape or form but a brief respite from the power drumming and guitar sound that is prevalent throughout the first three tracks and returns for Nothing To Lose and Teenage Alien Nation (a wonderful pun of a title there!).
‘Rise’ leads off the final five tracks of the album and while not showing the fist pumping excellence of the first half all five are still of a high quality. ‘This is the Sound’ being the only one to really get me singing out loud out of those five. Pity those poor neighbours!
American Hi-Fi have been described as peddlers of Pop, Punk and Rock ‘n’ Roll. Not sure myself where the Pop part of it comes from as they don’t have any sort of sound that I would call pop. They are more an amalgam of Punk and Rock ‘n’ Roll, the attitude comes across as a rock ‘n’ roll one while the music, especially vocally is more reminiscent of the major punk like bands (Green Day, Good Charlotte) but with much more harshness to them.
American Hi-Fi are a band that deserve a lot more publicity and radio play than they are getting, but then in the UK there are a lot of American bands that are not even known by music fans. Record companies seem unable to take advantage of a hit single to push the band further, or in most cases don’t even bother at all. Unfortunately for American Hi-Fi they are certainly in that boat in the UK.
In America though they still doing well, recently touring with the powerpop superstar Butch Walker (ex Marvellous 3, now solo performer and producer/writer for many a band) and releasing a new album early this year.
“C’mon, c’mon, get up, get up
I know it’s never forever,
C’mon, c’mon, get up, get up
You wanna hear I’m sorry? Whatever!
Overall I like this album, I listen to it quite a lot even now, and while it doesn’t match up to the quality of the top bands of their ilk it is not far of reaching their level. If you like stuff like Green Day and Good Charlotte and can find this at a good price it is well worth a gamble!
Tracklisting:
The Art of Losing
The Breakup Song
Beautiful Disaster
Save Me
Nothing Left To Lose
Teenage Alien Nation
Rise
This Is The Sound
The Gold Rush
Built For Speed
Happy
Prices (May 2007)
Amazon: £7.97
CD Wow: £10.99
Ebay: £3-4
Soundtrack appearances where you might have heard them:
American Pie 2 – “Vertigo”
Van Wilder – “I’m A Fool”
Get Over It – “Another Perfect Day”
Summary: A band that should be Hi-Flying!
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Last comment:
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grannygarden - 28/05/07 Your review should ensure that more people show an interest in them and want to learn/hear more. |
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