Fountains of Wayne

I have read many of the reviews here at Amazon, but few, if any, have mentioned that this music is PERFECTLY crafted power pop music. The guys of FoW are in the tradition of other popsters like...Todd Rundgren's 70's stuff, The Jam, The Cars, XTC, The Rasberry's, The Replacements, REM, ALEX CHILTON and Big Star, Super Drag, Muzzle, Cheap Trick, Superchunk, Rockpile and the Gods of pop, The Ramones. Ok, my list is getting long. Point is not too many great pop songs and pop bands still out there. Every single band I mentioned, including FoW, have written - OVER A LONG CAREER - perfect Power Pop. These guys are NOT a one hit wonder band, nee "The Wonders." Get the joke?

Look, there is not a weak song on this cd. Every song is perfect. Every song tells a great story. Every song is aurally exciting. You just aren't going to find a more fun, friendly and intellegent cd out there. FoW is the real deal. Buy this record. Then buy Utopia Parkway. Then buy Welcome Interstate Managers. You're on your own with getting the Christmas ep.

Added 10/28: I just interviewed Chris Collingwood. He said the "Alien" song from the Christmas ep was written for the band Hanson! I'm glad Hanson passed on it!eh

Several of the dozen songs on Fountains of Wayne fall into one (or both) of two categories: confrontational character studies and self-pitying personal laments. Of course, the distinction between these two categories isn't always completely obvious, and there are also times when they feel the pain of others. Their status as losers is evident in lyrics like "I wonder if he ever has cried, cause he couldn't get a date for the prom," and who else other than a couple of guys who weren't regularly getting some would think to say, "each time you curse at girls, you curse a little at yourself, don't you know a girl gets angry"? Their sympathy (or perhaps more precisely, empathy) for others is evident on the softly ominous "She's Got a Problem": "Every time she goes outside/She barely gets home alive/She's got a problem, and she's gonna do something dumb," and the 9 to 5 lament "Sick Day": "She's a hell of a girl, she's alone in the world/and she likes to say 'hey good lookin'/She's on her way, she takin' a sick day -- soon."

Granted, these lyrics are not terribly profound or innovative, but consider two things: 1) This genre -- alternative pop rock-- does not aim to be profound or innovative, and 2) while they may be neither, the sentiments expressed so simply here are rarely done so at all in popular music. I mean, "please don't rock me tonight, I'm not in the mood," coming from a guy? (Come on!) And how often does one hear lyrics like: "Joe Rey smokes at three/Barks like a pigeon and watches TV/He's cool...cool, cool, cooler than I am./He knows what I don't know/Got seventeen different words for snow that he signs/Signs to a deaf girl named Diane"? So while the lyrics are hardly pure poetry, they do have a refreshing originality and cleverness about them which makes the album worthy of repeated listenings in the hope of locating other such gems (such as the chorus of "Leave the Biker", which I will let you hear for yourself). The closest thing to a dud on the CD is "Survival Car," in which the high school loser tries too hard to be a superhero. However, the better songs that it is situated among allow it to slip by more or less unnoticed, and it is more disposable and forgettable than it is flat out bad, and it will get stuck in your head whether you like it or not (literally). Among the best songs which have not been quoted are the groovy opener "Radiation Vibe", the sing-along "I've Got A Flair", and the Simon & Garfunkel-ish closer "Everything's Ruined."

So, how successful is this CD as a whole? Well, the main goals of alternative pop rock (and power pop) are to be fun and catchy in heavy doses, and poignant in measured doses. Fountains of Wayne achieves all three of these goals in an admirable -- and thoroughly enjoyble -- fashion. It is not only a very promising debut, but a fine record by any standard. And if the hyperbolic quote from MOJO critic Dave DiMartino in the title of this review wins Fountians of Wayne listeners that it wouldn't otherwise have, then more power to it. Bottom line: it is great by virtue of its enjoyability.

(PS: (...)