It has to be said, 2001 was a great year not just for established artists, but breakthrough bands as well. SUM 41 released “All Killer No Filler”, JIMMY EAT WORLD oh so casually dropped “Bleed American”, Aaron Lewis’ STAIND were absolutely everywhere with “Break The Cycle”…and as much as we try to, we can’t ignore the impact LOSTPROPHETS had on the UK scene when they unleashed “The Fake Sound Of Progress”. All of these would go on to become household names…but some bands just came and went…or so we thought. One of these bands was AMERICAN HI FI, and when they delivered us “Flavour Of The Week” off of their debut album, we didn’t think that’s literally all they would be. Sure, they released a few more albums down the line, but they never truly took off after that initial hit. However, 2014 sees them back with a fresh new album, “Blood & Lemonade”…is this their year?
Starting off with “Armageddon Days”, its evident the band retains their ability to write catchy hooks around seemingly serious undertones. The track is subtle but a real foot tapper, a great, simple yet effective chorus and as a whole, there’s plenty of rock ‘n’ roll swagger here. It’s a good start. “Golden State” sounds more familiar, a pleasant dose of radio friendly rock, the bands signature sound unchanged inducing a welcome nostalgia trip, resulting in an enjoyable listen.
“Wake Up” is a far livelier effort, which is fitting, with its almost punk style guitar driven intro. Front man Stacey Jones’ vocals remain soft and melodic however keeping everything on a more pop based tone, but it’s a highlight track. “Amnesia” takes things up a gear yet again with some great bass driven rock, musically it’s probably as heavy as you’re going to get with the Boston based 4-piece and it’s a welcome change of tempo. “Killing Time” and “Portland” keep the album ticking, before we end on “No Ordinary Life”. The longest track on offer here, it’s a sombre rock ballad of sorts, but it does include some slick 6-string work courtesy of Jamie Arentzen.
“Blood & Lemonade”, despite its charm, will never live up to that song thirteen years ago, we can’t deny that, the band were lucky AND unlucky enough to have such a hit, people always seem to remember the song before the band, but, credit to AHF, they’ve stuck at it through an ever changing landscape in musical trends and they’ve written another simple yet enjoyable album. This may not catapult them into superstardom, to be fair I think they’re past that now, but it’s still very much worth a listen. [7]
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/americanhifi
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/blood-lemonade/id890566287
Starting off with “Armageddon Days”, its evident the band retains their ability to write catchy hooks around seemingly serious undertones. The track is subtle but a real foot tapper, a great, simple yet effective chorus and as a whole, there’s plenty of rock ‘n’ roll swagger here. It’s a good start. “Golden State” sounds more familiar, a pleasant dose of radio friendly rock, the bands signature sound unchanged inducing a welcome nostalgia trip, resulting in an enjoyable listen.
“Wake Up” is a far livelier effort, which is fitting, with its almost punk style guitar driven intro. Front man Stacey Jones’ vocals remain soft and melodic however keeping everything on a more pop based tone, but it’s a highlight track. “Amnesia” takes things up a gear yet again with some great bass driven rock, musically it’s probably as heavy as you’re going to get with the Boston based 4-piece and it’s a welcome change of tempo. “Killing Time” and “Portland” keep the album ticking, before we end on “No Ordinary Life”. The longest track on offer here, it’s a sombre rock ballad of sorts, but it does include some slick 6-string work courtesy of Jamie Arentzen.
“Blood & Lemonade”, despite its charm, will never live up to that song thirteen years ago, we can’t deny that, the band were lucky AND unlucky enough to have such a hit, people always seem to remember the song before the band, but, credit to AHF, they’ve stuck at it through an ever changing landscape in musical trends and they’ve written another simple yet enjoyable album. This may not catapult them into superstardom, to be fair I think they’re past that now, but it’s still very much worth a listen. [7]
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/americanhifi
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/blood-lemonade/id890566287
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