Review by Shannon Shumaker
After nearly a five year gap between record releases, American Hi-Fi’s newest album, Blood & Lemonade hits hard, absolutely proving that they are back and ready to take over. Throughout the entirety of the album, American Hi-Fi’s sound is well rounded, consistent and incredibly strong, making Blood & Lemonade a great listen.
“Armageddon Days,” the first track on Blood & Lemonade, is an amazing opening track with high energy, an amazing guitar hook and commanding vocals that really pull you in and keep you around for all ten tracks. The best part about Blood & Lemonade is that American Hi-Fi manages to keep the high energy that they set with “Armageddon Days” throughout the entire record. The guitar work throughout the album is fast paced, hard hitting and very strong, complimenting Stacy Jones’ vocals amazingly.
Two of the strongest songs on Blood & Lemonade are arguably the catchy second track “Golden State” and eighth track “Carry The Sorrow.” By the time I hit the halfway point on “Golden State” I am all smiles, bobbing my head along to the upbeat tune, and the only thing that makes the song even better are the relatable lyrics – “I don’t wanna like you anymore, I don’t wanna feel the way I did before…”
“Carry The Sorrow” is definitely the high point in the second half of Blood & Lemonade, once again with incredible guitar work, strong vocals and lyrics that really hit home, such as the line, “I’ll carry the sorrow and make it a part of myself.” The lyrics on Blood & Lemonade are definitely one of the strongest aspects on the album, a product of many years of the band working together and perfecting both their sound and message.
Blood & Lemonade is really just the pinnacle of American Hi-Fi’s releases. With the anthematic final track, “No Ordinary Life” closing out the album, there’s no question that they’re back and here to stay, having created a truly incredible record. Maybe it was the hiatus that helped American Hi-Fi figure out exactly what it was that they wanted to create with Blood & Lemonade or maybe it was just good old fashioned hard work, but whatever it was, it’s easy to say that this record is one of their best.
Rating: 5/5
Listen to “Carry The Sorrow”