Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

Having listened to Hiding Inside the Horrible Weather, the sophomore effort from alt-rockers My American Heart, nothing comes to mind. Despite multiple rotations in my iPod not one track stood out to me as memorable. While this is in no way a terrible album, there was nothing that drew me in or even remotely struck me as exceptional.

I should qualify the above statements with the fact that I’ve never heard any of MAH’s previous work. For all I know, this album could be a huge leap in stylistic maturity for the San Diego five-some. That being said, a record should be able to stand on its own as a work, not just in comparison to something else. While the band plays all of their instruments well and lead singer Larry Soliman’s voice is pleasantly un-whiny, somehow the execution does nothing to showcase any real originality.

The album’s leading single The Shake (Awful Feeling) features a catchy drum back-beat, but not much else. The lyrics come across as thoughtfully vague which is fine, but not particularly moving. Since the latter half of the album gets bogged down with balladry, other potential singles might be opening tracks Boys! Grab Your Guns or Speak Low If You Speak Love. Boys! follows the traditional emo scheme (right down to the exclamation point) and sounds good, but not groundbreaking. Speak Low distinguishes itself somewhat with menacing undertones, a hard-driving bass line and a shout along chorus (“I say those goddamn kids got nothing on me”) that begs to be heard live.

I don’t hate Hiding Inside the Horrible Weather. I simply can’t find a reason to love it. The result is an album of decent rock songs that leave little or no lasting impression.