American Hi-Fi had a big hit in 2001 with "Flavor of the Weak," and fittingly became, well, just that, by falling off of the pop/rock radar just as fast as it had arrived.

The three minutes of fame helped the band get its name out there, but actually hurt it in the long run when none of the other 12 tracks on Hi-Fi's impressive debut proved to be digestible enough to live up to the success of the breakout hit.

The band began an identity crisis with its aptly titled sophomore album, The Art of Losing, on which the only thing the band lost was itself in the pop/punk pileup that was taking place at the time.

American Hi-Fi attempts to set itself apart from the legions of pop/punk bands with its third album, Hearts on Parade, which ironically goes where thousands of other bands have gone before: '80s inspired quirky pop/rock.

The problem with this band is that it wants to sell out really bad, but it just can never get the job done.

The Art of Losing was more focused on pop/punk because that was what was popular when the album came out; however, Hi-Fi's version was too heavy for radio, and too poppy and mainstream for underground punk fans.

Hearts on Parade, on the other hand, is trying to capitalize on the recent popularity of retro-sounding bands, such as The Killers and Franz Ferdinand, however there is one problem: those bands are really good.

The band cranks out another catchy radio single with "The Geeks Get the Girls," and ... a bunch of other garbage that tries really hard to be retro.

On "Separation Anxiety," through all of the crappy, fake-retro guitar effects and restrained vocals, there is a hint of the energy that American Hi-Fi displayed on its first two releases.

"Something Real" is a reminder of the kind of melodic hook that was displayed throughout the band's self-titled debut, but the rest of the album's stupidity pulls the floor out from under it.

"We Can't Be Friends," has singer/guitarist Stacy Jones rap-singing over a dance/rock track. Some rock bands can pull off an occasional rap vocal, but American Hi-Fi is definitely not one of them, not to mention that the lyrics about cruising down the boulevard and the girl who wrecked his world are contrived to appeal to a younger audience.

Past those three tracks, the rest of the album's songs aren't very recognizable from each other, except for the fact that they each have different titles and lyrics.

If "The Geeks Get the Girls" gets enough radio attention, American Hi-Fi might be around long enough to make another album. The band has somehow survived this long.

When it's time for the band to go back into the studio, I'm sure it will crank out an album full of sub-par disco-metal, show tunes or whatever genre radio DJs will be boring the public with at that time.