American Hi-Fi

You might have seen American Hi-Fi's quirky video for its song "Flavor of the Weak" on MTV. Set in a pseudo-1970s parking lot, the video features a lonely girl wandering through the parking lot for her boyfriend while he makes out with another girl in her car. Over this sad picture, American Hi-Fi tells us the girl's boyfriend is "too stoned" and she doesn't realize "she's just the flavor of the week." This radio-friendly song, American Hi-Fi's first single, is catchy in a radio-airplay kind of way. Unfortunately, the rest of the album sounds remarkably the same.\nListening to this album for the first time, I cannot help but compare "Flavor of the Weak" with the next song, "A Bigger Mood." The beat, guitar riffs and even the melodies of the song sound so familiar, I had to check my CD player to make sure the CD hadn't skipped. \nThe slow "Safer on the Outside" is one of those examples of whiner rock that has become prevalent of late on teen movie soundtracks (think "American Pie" and "She's All That"). The tradition occurs in spurts on the album, like on the song "Blue Day," as if to bring the listener down from the fast songs on the album. The song "I'm a Fool" takes American Hi-Fi to its more comfortable, upbeat mood. Lyrics like You've been on my mind/Since I saw you walking by ... But I didn't know what to say/Until you walked away are typical of the band, who prefers to lament on romance angst, which is usually a major hit in song lyrics but falls flat here. The combinations of hard rock with boy band lyrics just doesn't work for the band. Even if the hard rock is somewhat pop-like, it is not enough to save the songs. \nAmerican Hi-Fi's one salvation is "Flavor of the Weak." Catchy, fun and an expression of guy angst about a terrific girl going out with the wrong guy, this song has the most potential to shoot up the charts, and it is the most listenable. The video will get the listener's attention. Unfortunately, American Hi-Fi can only offer the one song to keep today's fickle listeners interested. So skip the trip to the record store to buy American Hi-Fi. Instead, save your money and download the MP3 -- you wouldn't want to buy a record of one great single and a lot of songs that want to sound the same as "Flavor of the Weak"