If you never “sort-of” moshed with a group of friends to The Fratellis’ hit “Chelsea Dagger,” then you missed out on the mid-2000s.

Many critics have written The Fratellis off as a one-hit-wonder due to the lack of positive response garnered from their last two albums. The band’s latest album “Eyes Wide, Tongue Tied” does little to help their cause.

For listeners who know the band by their rowdy, high-energy hit, the album will be confusing and disappointing. Only a few songs bear a strong resemblance to the raw anthem-like garage band sound of “Chelsea Dagger.”

“Down The Road And Back… Again…” and “Thief” have a taste of the catchy yet gritty rock tune, and “Baby Don’t You Lie To Me” takes the amped indie pop energy to the highest level on the album.

Several songs seem experimental for the band and sample from other genres (in some cases arguably from other artists). “Impostors (Little By Little)” has a country, rockabilly twang to it that is markedly different from other material on the album; meanwhile “Dogtown” bursts out with a funk beat oddly reminiscent of Stevie Wonder’s “Superstitious.”

The Fratellis mellow out for “Slow” and “Desperate Guy,” but this singer-songwriter imitation doesn’t suit them. Their more creative lyrics actually come out on some of their more up-tempo material such as “Moonshine” — the song that surprised me the most on the album.

With a title like “Moonshine,” I automatically thought it would be another country song wannabe, but this track had a soft blues feel. With a slide guitar in the forefront, lead singer Jon Fratelli softened his vocals and proved that he actually has a pretty nice range and tone to his voice.

Lyrically, Fratelli also brought his best through a monologue from a hurt lover to his glass of sympathetic liquor. Phrases like “I’m just waiting in line/ Praying hard when it comes it’s divine/ Have I been blind/ Moonshine” echo the song’s melancholic blues feeling well.

The title of the album came from the last track “Medusa In Chains,” which proved to be another surprise on the album.

This time the experimental branch off from rowdy rock ended well, and The Fratellis adopted a slight grunge undertone with a dissonant baseline and paired piano chords. Even the lyrics sported a grunge vibe with phrases like, “Eyes wide, tongue tied/ She replied/ I’m lost inside.”

Overall, the album wasn’t anything to rave about, but it showed just enough potential to not write Fratellis off completely. Sometimes one-hit wonders can make a comeback.