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Review of CD - "Welcome
Interstate Managers" - Fountains of Wayne - by Thomas D. Havard
I wanted to tell you all about a
CD I got over the weekend, "Welcome Interstate Managers", by Fountains
of Wayne. Maybe you know them. I'd heard of these guys, but never knew what
they were about or paid them any mind. This DJ who I don't generally like on
WFUV, the mostly folky station I listen to, said it was the best album she had
heard this year, but she said that well after she played the song, which I missed
because I wasn't in my car yet then. Then a week or so later another DJ played
a song of theirs called Hackensack. Great. Definitely not folk. For this station
to cross into real rock and roll is a rarity, and is usually a sign that the
band might be worth something. So I bought it yesterday.
Great stuff. Very poppy, guitar based with a few keyboards and an occasional
random instrument, and GREAT melodies. It does make me a little uncomfortable
listening to an album that comes from and is probably targeting a younger generation,
as if I'm listening to my teenage son's album collection when he's away at high
school or something. And some songs, especially tracks 2 and 3 (still good songs),
come dangerously close to those blink 89234, sum 86 kinds of forgetable bands.
But these guys, or at least this album, stands out. The lyrics are smart and
inspired, not the usual "who gives a sh%$" slacker mentality I hear
on "alternative" radio nowadays. And combined with the melodies and
music, there are some really good hooks here. Not the in your face, repeat the
same stupid line until it annoys the heck out of you kind of hooks, but refreshing
hooks that take you by surprise, sometimes in the verse and not just the chorus.
Sorry to get into music critic mode there. But I highly recommend this album.
Not an error if you buy it. Also, the jayhawks new album sounds great to me
too. I don't own that one, but the 5 or 6 songs I've heard on the radio are
nice. The tone is lighter and more melancholy than their previous album, Smile,
but it sounds like good stuff. - Tom
Peter Gernert Dott added:
Tom, Excellent recommendation on the new Fountains of Wayne CD (Welcome Interstate Managers)! Been listening to it all week. I've got to admit that during my first listen, I wasn't thrilled. FoW's lyrics are right there in front, clever as hell but a bit too much at times. The single Stacy's Mom (has got it going on) sounds too much like a Summer novely song (think Barenaked Ladies or They Might be Giants). However, the songwriting is really excellent throughout. And after I got over my own self-imposed anti-obvious-lyric obsession, I started to really enjoy the tunes. They are immediately likable and hummable with good pop melodies and harmonies. The album ventures all over the place from straight ahead rock (Little Red Light, Bought for a Song, No Better Place) that would be at home on any early Matthew Sweet album, to country (Since you hung up on me I'm hung up on you), to stuff that sounds like a Gilbert O'Sullivan B-side from 1974 (Halley's Waitress: "can I just get some coffee?, Is that too much to ask, Haley's waitress, is not up to the task."). One of my favorites is an Oasis-sounding tune about a daydreaming quarterback (All Kinds of Time) that builds from acoustic guitar to an wall of sound finish. This song also has one of the coolest, understated guitar solos I've heard in recent years.
This CD is a perfect compliment to the harder-edge stuff I've been listening to lately (Foo Fighters, etc.). A great album for the Summer...
Their earlier album (I bought it as a two for one at Amazon)is also good but I'd say the new one is more consistent and it cranks a bit more.
Thanks again, TH!
Fountains of Pete
Pete Gernert-Dott