Remember the radio hit "Flavor of the Weak?" That's it -- the one with the high-pitched voice, alternative rock beat and monotonous melody that you couldn't get out of your head, regardless of how hard you tried. Well, prepare to have that same high-pitched voice stuck in your head again this summer, because American Hi-Fi is back with another album -- "The Art of Losing."When you first ask someone to describe American Hi-Fi, you'll probably hear the group compared to a hundred different bands, among them the Foo Fighters, Nirvana, NIN, Smashing Pumpkinsand even Oasis. Despite these similarities, American Hi-Fi has a distinct sound that mostly can be traced to its unique formation.Oddly enough, Stacy Jones, the lead guitarist and singer of American Hi-Fi, started his rock career as a drummer. Upon moving from London to the States in junior high, Jones found his niche as a drummer in several small bands, finally stepping behind the kit to support the late Letters to Cleo. Jones quickly built a reputation as a fantastic rock drummer, sporting his skills on Cleo's album "Go!" (1997). Who could have predicted that this drum prodigy has the voice and guitar chops to front his own band?When Letters to Cleo became defunct, Jones decided that he wasn't ready to quit just yet. Instead, he recruited Brian Nolan, formerly the drummer for Figdish, along with guitarist Jamie Arentzen and bassist Drew Parsons to form a new project. The new group of veteran musicians first called itself BMX Girl, finally adopting the name American Hi-Fi after playing several, small gigs. In spring 2001, Island Records released American Hi-Fi's debut, self-titled album, which featured the radio hit "Flavor of the Weak."American Hi-Fi's second album, "The Art of Losing," contains the energy of the debut album but captures the band moving in a different direction. At this point, American Hi-Fi no longer is trying to establish itself as a household name, which gives it more freedom to experiment. Instead of the processed, pop-rock sound of the first album, which sounded somewhat like LFO meets Sonic Youth, the second album strips away this triteness and concentrates on bare, alternative rock music. Expect to hear lots of drums and distorted guitar, minus the addictive melodies.The album's title track is outstanding, featuring a fast-paced chorus and heavy drum beats. What else can you expect from a band founded by a former drummer? The track lacks the melodic, bubblegum pop feel of "Flavor of the Weak," instead having a more genuine rock sound that is slightly reminiscent of Green Day -- at its prime, of course. Despite this contrast, the song still will receive ample airplay, also having a "made for MTV" sound that undoubtedly will have Carson Daily announcing it sometime on TRL. Don't worry, though, like "Flavor of the Weak," the song and its driving beat should be thoroughly stuck in your head by late summer.The album has a few more tracks worth mentioning. "The Breakup Song" is both caustic and somewhat humorous, in an alternative kind of way. The R-rated track "Nothing Left to Lose" seems a little lacking in the lyrics department, both earning the album an explicit contents warning and having stupid lines like "And I kick it like Jackie Chan / With my Kung Fu style / I'll get rid of you in a while." The lyrics seem as spontaneous and careless as the handwriting in which they are scribbled in the album's jacket.There's just one drawback to "The Art of Losing": after listening to the title track, you'll begin to feel that the album is highly monotonous, often wondering where one track ends and the next one begins. It seems that each track has the same drum beat, distorted guitar sound and high-pitched chorus without a lot of variation, much less a quasi-slow track to mix things up. If you're a diehard American Hi-Fi fan, then you probably won't mind the lack of variety. However, if you're just looking for a good alternative rock CD to listen to in the car, then you might want to check out something with a little more character, like Zwan's "Mary Star of the Sea."
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