Letters To Cleo rose to fame in the mid-90s with their post-grunge pop rock sound. Featured on the soundtrack to Melrose Place, and their 1994 album, "Here & Now" reached #56 on the Top 100. Their next album yielded another chart appearance when "Awake" topped out at #88. "Awake" would mark this Boston band's final showing on the charts. "Co-Pilot" comes from their 1997 effort, "Go!" and should have been the winning song that breathed a second wind into their sails. But I guess it just wasn't meant to be. Shortly thereafter, drummer Stacy Jones went on the front his own band, American Hi-Fi. Singer Kay Hanley used to write a childhood pen-pal named Cleo, which is where the band got its name.
The third album by alternative rock band American Hi-Fi was
a pretty big departure for the band. With Butch Walker at the helm as producer,
the album was markedly more lighthearted and melodic than its grittier
predecessors.
“Hearts on Parade” was released in Japan in 2004, but got its US release in 2005.
Most people remember this band for their breakout single, “Flavor
of the Weak”, which just missed the Billboard Top 40 in 2001. The leadoff single
from “Hearts on Parade” was “The Geeks Get the Girls”, but it failed to chart. Nevertheless,
the album reached #129 on the Billboard Top 200.
The track I keep going back to is “We Can’t Be Friends”. The band's sense of humor is on full display in the lyrics, and the chorus is one of the catchiest the band has ever written. Overall, a very slick and memorable
song!
