REVIEWS:
Fountains of Wayne is a power pop duo consisting of two guys with really long last names, Adam Schlesinger and Chris Collingwood, the former of which almost won a Grammy for the title song to the Tom Hanks rock film That Thing You Do and the latter of which didn't. Their songs are catchy and they don't exactly seem to be in a hurry to release any new material. What, were you expecting an essay or something? Greedy, greedy....
--Rich Bunnell
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(reviewed by Rich Bunnell)
If there's one thing that sets this duo apart from the other mid-'90s power pop revival bands that I've heard, it's that these dudes have a particularly impeccable talent for hooks. Now, hold it right there with your rock encyclopedias-- I totally realize that power pop is probably the most hook-based genre of music that has ever existed, and that's beside the point. While bands like Weezer tend to let the entire song act as the drawing point for the listener, Fountains Of Wayne are utterly fantastic at crafting that one specific moment in a song, the part you remember, the part that keeps running through your head that just makes the whole tune worth it. I'd be hard-pressed to name a moment like that in a song like, say, "Buddy Holly," where the appeal lies more in the impact of the entire song rather than any specific lick or choral hook, but it's different on this album -- I can look at each individual title on the tracklisting and immediately some little wonderful melodic aspect of the song will run through my head. Reducing a band to the quality of its hooks might seem shallow, but 1) I'm trying to fill space here, so cut me a break, and 2) most of the album's appeal indeed lies in this quality. Take a song like "Joe Rey," for example. It's totally generic for the most part, but it's all worth it just for that "point point pointin' the fiiiiiiiinger!" part, which totally reflects on the rest of the song.
That having been said, how does the material actually hold up? 'Salright. The songs might all have yummy harmonies and memorable choruses, but in spite of the way I pompously built up their talent for hooks above, it still all amounts to little more than "very listenable," so don't think I'm setting this forth as some absolutely untouchable and mythical pop album. All I can say is that the stuttering "Radiation Vibe" and "Sink To The Bottom" are mighty fine radio-ready singles, "Barbara H" has some crazy up-down vocal stylings in the chorus that catch my ears with great ease, and "Leave The Biker" is a strummy little story that demonstrates how a songwriter can be just as geeky as Rivers Cuomo but also likeable and funny in the process, something which that whiny little midget can't say, harharhar. Power pop's certainly had its share of boring, by-the-numbers ballads, so it's a good thing that "Sick Day" and "Everything's Ruined" aren't among them thanks to appealing, lush melodies and tenderly, calmly-soaring vocals (if you can even imagine such a thing). The rest of the songs follow the same formula with slightly more contrived and less-memorable results (particularly "I've Got A Flair," catchy "oh yeah"s nonwithstanding); still, if you want yourself a good little power pop album this certainly isn't the wrong way to go. Play it while driving, preferably in your survival car.
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(reviewed by Rich Bunnell)
The duo's much-anticipated followup to their critically-acclaimed debut turned out to be considerably more substantial of an album -- where the debut had twelve songs, several of which fell under the three-minute mark, this one contained fourteen fully-thought-out pop songs and a healthy forty-five minute running time, do the math. In addition, the tunes are considerably more complex this time around (the walls of harmonies and wacka-wacka guitars on the opening title track are merely one example of many) and helped along greatly by much fuller and glossier production values than those employed before. A more retro feel dominates the instrumentation than before; whereas on the debut everything was ruled by the crunchy guitars and solid power-pop backbeats, on here the band isn't adverse to throwing on Cars-y new wave-ish synths or corny keyboard solos if they feel it might fit the songs, and more power to them. "Red Dragon Tattoo" for one should be committed into some kind of musical mental institution for being way too catchy, but the "Swingtown"-ish synth solo just raises it to an even higher plane of existence, and the jagged guitars on the cold and distant first single "Denise" (which could be Adam Sandler's theme song, if you remember that SNL sketch) are backed up to perfection by a thin keyboard section employed in the best possible manner.
The sense of hookcraft on the album is different from on the debut in the fact that more of the songs work as "fully-formed entities" as opposed to "choruses," which definitely works in the album's favor. It means that songs like "Valley Of The Malls," instead of letting some single vocal nuance hook in the listener, are given the chance to enthrall with waves of perfectly-constructed harmonies and classy surf guitar, with remaining tuneage like the power-pop-meets-Beach-Boys crunch of "It Must Be Summer" (which rocks about ten times as hard as "Surf Wax America," for the sake of throwing in another poke at Weezer in spite of the fact that I like them) not falling very far behind in the area of memorability. The change in songwriting focus does leave ballads like "Prom Theme" and "Senator's Daughter" a bit less catchy-charming than the ones on the debut, even if they're more lush and sweeping than they were in the past, but it also lets the simpler pop songs shine in a way that they wouldn't have before. "Troubled Times" probably doesn't have the most original melody you'll ever come across in your musical wanderings, but the overall approach to the song, with chiming guitars, a nearly-muted clapping backbeat and sighing counterharmonies turn the tune into an impressive work nonetheless.
Some of the simpler songs don't really pack the punch of the others, like the totally annoying "Laser Show," which sounds way too much like a big-guitar update of Bob Seger's "Old Time Rock & Roll" for my liking, and the short throwaway "Lost In Space," which is admittedly catchy but has a been-there-done-that melody the type of which the band is smartly able to avoid for most of the album. It's a definite improvement over the debut though in overall catchiness and substance, and if the duo actually regroups for another album in the future you can bet that I'll be waiting to snap it up. Me likes myself the yummy pop, you betcha!
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(reviewed by Kevin Baker)
Stacy's Mom has to be the least likely hit of the past year. Other than hooks galore, it does NOT have "modern radio hit" stamped across its reverse-pedophile self. And even more so than Stacy's Mom, Fountains of Wayne does NOT have "hip, cool hit machine" tattooed across its backside. Not that I've ever seen Fountains of Wayne's backside. They mercifully opt to keep their clothing on most of the time, except while showering and playing various kinky games named after snakes and foodstuffs with their groupies backstage. But seriously, these guys just seem too....dorky to be cool rock stars. They write songs about exploding cell phones, being alcoholic sales representatives, lousy office environments, and also about teen guys who think their girlfriend's mom has got it goin' on. Bit of a far cry from Party Up (Up in Here), Get Ur Phreak On, and the like, eh?
By the way, am I the only person who thinks that intentional misspelled words (like "ur" for "your" and the like) are an absolute insult to the English language? I understand their purposes for text messaging, which costs money, but for online conversation and emails....DO NOT DO THAT. IT IS ANNOYING, GRAMMATICALLY INCORRECT, AND MAKES THE AUTHOR OF SUCH ABBREVIATIONS LOOK LIKE A MENTALLY CHALLENGED RHESUS MONKEY. Besides, "ur" is the name of an ancient Sumerian city. OK, end of rant.
Despite their dorky exterior, Fountains of Wayne has...well, a dorky core, too. However, that does NOT equal something bad. In fact, it's rather nice. Not as nice as a creamy nougat center, but I'll settle for the dorkiness. Take Hey Julie, for instance. It's a pleasant acoustic shuffle with neat-sounding rhythm instruments, but the lyrics are all about that special girl who makes the singer feel better about his lousy office job where he slaves away for The Man. This band makes cubicle-rock - it's small wonder that Stacy's Mom was the hit from this, as it's one of the few songs NOT to involve office scenarios of one sort or another. Speaking of Stacy's Mom, it's a heck of an amusing song, and catchy to boot. Somebody had sure been listening to The Cars' debut album the day they wrote that one. I first heard it at a pool party while riding an inflatable alligator like it was a bronco. I believe I then tried to stand up in a floating (and empty) ice chest in the pool, only to fall over.
But back to musical things. Other winners on this slab of whatever it is they make CDs out of? I absolutely love Valley Winter Song - it's perhaps the only song here that is emotionally resonant as well as catchy. I also think the opening brace of four songs is a top-notch combo of pop-rock perfection (Mexican Wine, Bright Future In Sales, Stacy's Mom, and Hackensack) that includes the lyrically fabulous Hackensack. The first ballad on the album, Hackensack is the love ode of a loser schlub from New Jersey to a now-famous actress he knew in high school. It also contains manages to make a rhyme involving Christopher Walken, which definitely scores points in MY book. Speaking of Christopher Walken, is it just me or does that man appear in half the movies ever made? Sheesh, he's not that great an actor...but wait, maybe THAT'S why they use him all the time. He's decent enough not to embarrass the moviemakers, but he doesn't threaten to overshadow the lead actors.....IT'S A CONSPIRACY.
Well, now that I'm on to Hollywood's deep, dark secret, I must flee and hide somewhere safe, like London. Well, London may or may not be safe, but I like it there nonetheless. At any rate, this album's strongpoints - catchiness, amusing arrangements and lyrics, and nothing blatantly offensive to your distinguished listening palate. Weaknesses - The ISO 9000 themes don't resonate at all with me, and when they're not trying to charm and amuse, these guys REALLY have to fight uphill to make a good song.
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