Source: Album Artwork
American Hi-Fi have been around since before most of the artists on today’s top 40 could even walk. Their part played in the beginnings of the pop punk scene back in the 90’s and early 00’s is not one to be scoffed at, and now they’ve managed to struck gold once more with an acoustic album, filled with gentler recordings of every song on their self-titled debut that was released back in 2001.
American Hi-Fi have never managed to chart brilliantly compared to the likes of Blink-182 and New Found Glory, but they’ve retained a die-hard fan base that has supported them on a career spanning nearly 20 years. One of their most well known songs, ‘Flavor Of The Weak‘ is a strong offering when ‘translated’ in to acoustic — still managing to be as punk rock as its counterpart while using less than half the energy.
This revival is undoubtedly nostalgic, appealing to the older generation of pop punk who may not have the time anymore to dedicate solely to their favourite band, but still hold the New England band dear in their hearts. Tracks like ‘My Only Enemy‘ and ‘Hi Fi Killer‘ will have you certain that it’s 2002 again and chain belts are still all the rage, but alas, it’s 2016 and Justin Bieber is ruling the world of music… but that doesn’t mean you can’t appreciate the past.
American Hi-Fi have still got the pop punk spirit running wild amongst them and therefore this album is one of pure brilliance. It’s hard to believe these are just re-recorded versions of songs on an album that’s fifteen years when they are completely re-imagined and re-arranged to sound like something completely fresh. With that, we can almost forgive the two members of the band who also play for Miley Cyrus. Almost.
