Boston rock band American Hi-Fi’s innate skill at choosing the perfect words to label its music is almost scary. The name of the group’s 2000 hit “Flavor of the Week” proves to be exactly what American Hi-Fi was two years ago.
Unfortunately for the band, its flavor is not coming back any time soon, and with its third album, American Hi-Fi will be pretty well practiced at losing.
Just reading a list of the song titles (like “The Breakup Song,” “Save Me” and “Teenage Alien Nation”) prepares the listener for the audaciously repetitive skate punk/garage rock/grunge/whatever else these guys can attempt to rip off collage of second-rate musicianship and songwriting that a 10-year-old deaf kid could simultaneously out-write and out-wit.
The title track and album opener kicks off with a Good Charlotte-meets-AC/DC drumbeat and a haze of lazy “woo-oohs.” Lead singer (and songwriter) Stacy Jones can’t even sing the chorus in tune as he talks about inciting a riot of righteous suburban youth. The only thing revolutionary about the song is that the band is overconfident enough to melt the end of the track into the chorus of Kim Wilde’s ’80s classic “Kids in America.”
The second song sinks the band even lower into the depths of mediocrity and beyond. “The Breakup Song” wins the award for being the least interesting song to ever name-drop both My Bloody Valentine and The Pixies in its verses.
Jones sings, “We’re sinking, and I’m thinking / How the hell did we get so stupid?” Listeners can’t help but ask the same question as they realize that the band is simply regurgitating the chorus melody from its previous single, “Flavor of the Week.” The song actually ends up acting as a list of bands you should be listening to instead of American Hi-Fi as Jones recalls all the records an ex-girlfriend stole from him.
Hi-Fi’s attempt to rap on “Nothing Left to Lose” is almost as unintentionally humorous, as when Jones sings the pre-chorus of “Hey hey hey / All the bitches in the back.” The multi-tracked vocal growls and lyrics about Jackson Brown and “Holla(ing) back y’all” will make you wish Run DMC had never met Rick Rubin.
By the midway point of the song, the group once again falls into imitation by attempting to pay homage to (or steal outright) J. Geils Band’s immortal “nah nah nah”s of its classic ’80s tune “Centerfold.”
Jones’ fake British accent on “This is the Sound,” quickly gets lost in another batch of familiar melodies and distorted guitar. “Save Me” begins with calm waves of acoustic guitar and a nice subtle bass riff, but when Jones’ voice shifts into a Blink-182 wannabe whine, the song becomes grating.
Two of the more listenable tracks on the album are “Beautiful Disaster” and “Built for Speed.” Both tracks illustrate the band’s seldom-demonstrated strengths — playing fast and yelling a bunch.
The aggression of “Beautiful Disaster” leaks out in distorted vocals (possible hinting at a case of The Strokes complex) and double-dare lyrics about making enemies. “Built for Speed” is a song about a girl doing drugs and you know … conformity and stuff.
With a band that steals blatantly, swears profusely and name-drops like crazy, there’s not much to look forward to. Luckily, Jones’ lyrical prowess on “Teenage Alien Nation” efficiently sums up his band’s future: “Forget about tomorrow …We’re goin’ nowhere.”
Grade: D
