Losing one-hit wonder status: American Hi-Fi

The Art of Losing

American Hi-Fi

Island Records

If you are familiar… The Art of Losing

American Hi-Fi

Island Records

If you are familiar with MTV’s videos from a few summers ago, you might remember who American Hi-Fi is. Their debut video, released a year ago, “Flavor of the Weak” played on the channel as many times as they could without breaking the tape from overuse.

Now American Hi-Fi is set to release something more than “Flavor” with the release of their new disc, The Art of Losing.

The title track starts the 11-song album off with a kick, as the chorus screams, “Hey ho let’s go/ I’m gonna start a riot/ You don’t wanna fight it/ One two f— you/ Don’t tell me what to do.”

From the album’s start, American Hi-Fi show that they can rock with this release. Some highlights of the album include the fourth track on the album titled “Save Me,” as well as the track that follows, “Nothing Left to Lose.”

Led by frontman and guitarist Stacey Jones, formerly the drummer for Letters to Cleo and Veruca Salt, American Hi-Fi formed in 1998 in Boston. Their self-titled debut released in 2001 was filled with catchy hooks and poppy, vapid lyrics.

With the release of The Art of Losing, American Hi-Fi take their music to a harder level, leaving most of the hooks behind, but don’t be fooled: The songs still stick in your head, and the guitars and drums help push the harder sound of the latest release.

From beginning to end, The Art of Losing proves to be well worth listening to, and a good step towards moving out of the one-hit wonder platform that many critics may have placed American Hi-Fi on.