In 2005, Long Island band Nightmare of You released its self-titled debut and won the hearts of critics and fans alike with its catchy pop melodies and dark lyrics that sounded as though they were straight out of the late 1980s Brit-pop movement.

Praise was heaped upon the band from every corner of the musical world and it seemed poised to make the jump into stardom.

Four long years, a few member changes and one flawless EP later, Nightmare of You has finally released its second full-length album, titled “Infomaniac,” to legions of anxious fans with sky-high expectations that, ultimately, the band could not live up to.

“Infomaniac” opens with the soft acoustic strumming and sweet singing of singer Brandon Reilly on “Good Morning, Waster.”

The song is a change of pace from anything else the band has ever released, and informs listeners that this will not be the album they were expecting, but seamlessly transforms into the more familiar track “Eustacia Vye,” one of the few catchy songs on the album with the dark, witty lyrics that the band has become known for.

Reilly confesses to a lover, “I’m glad you were born, kid / We are stars in the septic sea,” as the band plays along with a bouncy tune.

The album takes its first wrong turn with “I Think I’m Getting Older,” a boring tune that sounds hollow and forced. Reilly’s vocals sound strained and as though they are from a rough demo version of the song, and the band sounds terribly lacking.

The climax of the album is the tune “Hey Sweetheart,” a mid-tempo pop song with charmingly disturbing lyrics that give the song a unique quality that few current bands can match.

It’s all downhill from this point, though, as the second half of “Infomaniac” is a forgettable trip through all that the band feels is in need of criticism.

“Amsterdam” is the token anti-war song that Nightmare of You has included on each of their earlier releases, except this time the song isn’t sonically pleasing as the predecessors have been.

“Gavi” is meant to be an ironic take on the celebrity culture of our society, as seen from the vantage point of the celebrity. Reilly sings, “I want to put a baby inside you / So that I can name it and ship it off to the tabloids,” and while the lyrics are a case of sad but true, the meaning of the song is lost amongst the wailing sirens, thumping drums and driving bass that suffocate the vocals.

The only light that is visible as one plods along through the darkness that is the second half of “Infomaniac” is the flowing “Please Don’t Answer Me.”

Reilly’s voice soars over an easy guitar strumming early on before the rest of the band joins in to complete what is the most cohesive song of the album. Until this point the band had been trying, and failing, to showcase a new sound but it did not come full circle until “Please Don’t Answer Me.”

“Goodnight, Devil” concludes the album in a jumbled mess, with vocals that cannot be deciphered and guitar effects to the point of overkill.

Truthfully, it is better to end the album without listening to this track, as it only leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

Perhaps the weight of the expectations placed upon Nightmare of You were too much for the band to shoulder, or perhaps this is simply the infamous sophomore slump so many bands experience and will prove only to be a speed bump in their careers.

Whatever the explanation, “Infomaniac” simply was not the best album the band could make — the quality and creativity that made them darlings of the music scene are notably absent on this album.

Here’s to hoping that the ultimately talented Nightmare of You can right the ship and move past this phase of its career.

Reach the reporter at jdfourni@asu.edu.