American Hi-Fi is fronted by Stacy Jones. The story goes that Jones played drums for one hit wonders Letters To Cleo and Veruca Salt. Certainly not enough history to offer a record contract. So is American Hi-Fi up to snuff?
Well, the opener, “Surround”, is generic pop rock. The first single, “Flavor Of The Weak”, is super poppy. It’s as fresh as a day in spring. It’s Weezer meets Smashing Pumpkins meets all those one hit wonder punk-pop bands you can hear on the radio today, tomorrow, and any other day.
“Safer On The Outside” has a Smashing Pumpkins “Disarm” addiction. It just never gets to that super status. “Blue Day” goes straight after the Rolling Stones. Now we are toying with classic. The lyrics aren’t up to par, but the music isn’t terrible. The guitar riffs are potent but get lost in an average song.
American Hi-Fi makes a huge mistake. They leave a fistful of ballads for the album’s end. If they’d have mixed the pop rockers with the ballads a little better, maybe the album would have flowed with more ease.
American Hi-Fi is such a fitting name for a band that is as generic as Top 20 radio. They fit in perfectly. Just don’t expect to remember them next year when another band comes and sounds just like them.
+ rae gun
02.26.01
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