The Art of Losing

American Hi-Fi released their self-titled debut album in February 2001[1] and promoted it with around 300 shows;[2] its lead single "Flavor of the Weak" reached number 41 on the Billboard Hot 100.[3] While on tour, they wrote material on the back of their tour bus.[2] In March 2002, the band began recording their follow-up album with producer Nick Launay, aiming to complete it by April.[4] They wanted to retain their live energy while recording.[2] Basic tracks were recorded with assistance from Kevin Dean and Chris Reynolds at Sunset Sound Studio 2 in Hollywood, California.[5]

Overdubs were made with assistance from Dave Alhert and Adam Fuller at Media Vortex in Burbank, California, and from Errin Familia at Sage and Sound in Hollywood. Launay mixed the recordings before the album was mastered by Bob Ludwig and Adam Ayan at Gateway Mastering in Portland, Maine.[5] The album cost around $200,000 to make; when the band's label Island Records wanted them to record three more tracks, the cost rose to $300,000.[6]

The Art of Losing was initially planned to be titled Beautiful Disaster before it was changed to its final title.[7] The album's music has been described as pop punk, power pop and rock, and has been compared to the works of Blink-182 and Sum 41.[7][8][9] The opening title-track evokes the sound of the Clash; its ending segues into the chorus of "Kids in America" (1981) by Kim Wilde.[7][10] Jones said the song is about being an underdog and moving on regardless of being told what to do.[11] "The Breakup Song" is reminiscent of the band's song "Flavor of the Weak", "First Date" by Blink-182, and the music of the Police.[7][12][13] It talks about relationship issues and the narrator trying to retrieve his record collection rather than his ex-girlfriend.[8]

"Beautiful Disaster" has distorted vocals in the style of the Strokes.[10] The acoustic song "Save Me", along with "This Is the Sound", recall the works of Goo Goo Dolls.[13][14] "Nothing Left to Lose" uses hip hop phrases such as "Holla back y'all" and "All the bitches in the back", and allusions to the Undertones, Jackson Browne, Dennis Rodman and Jackie Chan, and cribs the work of Good Charlotte.[15][13] It is followed by rock numbers "Teenage Alien Nation" and "Rise".[8] "The Gold Rush", alongside "Happy", recall the music of Buzzcocks.[9] "Built for Speed" channels the music of Nirvana and discusses a girl taking drugs.[10][14] It is followed by the closing track "Happy", which features guitar licks sampled from "Taxman" by the Beatles.[9]

During the 2002 Warped Tour, American Hi-Fi debuted several new songs.[2] In December 2002, the band filmed the music video for "The Art of Losing" in Hays, Kansas, with their friend Chris Applebaum directing.[11] The video was shot over three days and cost a million dollars to make.[6][16] The video shows the band performing in a fan's house; this was inspired by some fans approaching the band after a gig and giving their addresses.[11]

"The Art of Losing" was released on radio as the album's lead single on January 7, 2003.[17] The track marked the start of an initiative from The Island Def Jam Music Group, which made radio singles available as digital downloads to coincide with their radio add-dates. Larry Mattera, the label's vice-president of new media, said it would aid them to gauge audience reactions as soon as people purchased the downloads.[18] The single's German CD version includes "Deceiver", "When the Breeders Were Big", and a live version of "Flavor of the Weak" as extra tracks; the UK CD omits "Deceiver", and includes the other two tracks and addition to the music video for "The Art of Losing".[16][19]

On February 25, 2003, The Art of Losing was released through Island Records.[20] The cover artwork is a photograph titled "Self Control" that was taken by Alexandra Klever.[5] The European version of the album includes live versions of "A Bigger Mood" and "Hi-Fi Killer"—both from the group's debut album—as bonus tracks while the Japanese edition includes "When the Breeders Were Big".[21][22] It was promoted with a club tour throughout February.[2] In April and May that year, the group were scheduled to support Millencolin on their east coast tour[23] but the tour was canceled due to family issues.[24] Music videos for "The Breakup Song" and "Beautiful Disaster" were later released.[25][26]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	69/100[27]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[13]
Cleveland Scene	C[28]
E! Online	B-[14]
Entertainment Weekly	C[29]
IGN	7/10[8]
Melodic	[7]
Rock Hard	6.5/10[30]
Rolling Stone	[15]
Spin	7/10[12]
Yahoo! Launch	mixed[9]

The Art of Losing was met with generally favorable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, the album received an average score of 69, based on 8 reviews.[27]

E! Online opened their review by calling the band consistent, adding the listener was in "familiar territory" with a "a batch of arena-ready, metal-friendly ... that often sounds like Sum 41 doing its best Bay City Rollers impression".[14] IGN writer Jesse Lord said lyricism was "not [the band's] strong point", that the "words resonate with an overwhelming sense of deja vu ... full of cliché and pop culture references". Beside this, Lord said it is a "rather pleasant album to listen to" with "complex musical themes" that separate the band from their peers.[8] Christian Hoard of Spin said "only a snob could hate these 11 songs, which wear their bright, adrenalized grooves, lucid melodies, and arena-ready choruses ... proudly and without a shred of irony".[12] Yahoo! Launch's Ken Micallef said the band made their own brand of "nostalgic power pop that will leave your your vocal cords a mess and your shirt full of someone's else's sweat".[9]

Rock Hard said The Art of Losing "evoke[d] little emotions in me. They are too professional and good to be annoying ... too calculated and unoriginal to sincerely like".[30] Entertainment Weekly's Craig Seymour wrote the band "return[ed] with a peppy, though derivative, kick of suburban brat rock". Seymour said a few tracks give a "quick sugar-high effect—once they fade, they’re about as fresh as overchewed bubblegum".[29] Cleveland Scene writer Mikael Wood said the album is "full of agreeable sass", though with Jones conveys a "total lack of originality".[28] AllMusic reviewer Johnny Loftus said the record is filled mainly with a "jumble of F-words, cheeky pop culture references, name-drops ... and more buzzing 21st century new alternative rock helped out considerably by production chicanery".[13] Kirk Miller of Rolling Stone noted despite the band being two years from the release of "Flavor of the Weak", they were seemingly "still searching for [an] identity".[15] Melodic writer Kaj Roth called it an "OK album" and that the group had lost "their own personal style," sounding "just like 36 other bands".[7]

The Art of Losing peaked at number 80 on the US Billboard 200.[31] The title track reached number 33 on the Alternative Airplay chart.[32] The album appeared on one of BuzzFeed's "best-of pop punk album" list.[33]

All songs written by Stacy Jones.[5]

Personnel per booklet.[5]

Citations

Sources