Fountains of Wayne is one of the few bands that I have always been able to count on to consistently combine brilliant sound and clever lyrics. They first came to my attention when they opened for my then-favorite band, the Smashing Pumpkins, at my first-ever concert, way back in my mid-teens (okay, it was only 10 years ago). I enjoyed their first album, but then they dropped off my radar for several years, resurfacing in 2003 with their excellent third release, Welcome Interstate Managers. I caught up with their second album, Utopia Parkway (not my favorite, but it has some gems) and their B-sides collection, Out of State Plates. But it'd been three years since Plates came out and I was excited to hear about a new album coming...
I have not been let down. Traffic and Weather is just as good as Interstate Managers, and could end up being my favorite of their albums so far. I rarely like every song on an album, no matter who the artist is, but I have a pretty good success rate with the Fountains - about 90% play-throughs (as opposed to the ones where I press 'skip' ). The cover artwork is cute - a collage of graphic shapes in bright colors, and the CD booklet continues in the same vein. The art reflects the bright, shiny, catchy songs on the CD - perfectly put together, as usual. The Fountains manage to cover a wide range of musical styles as well - if I were more fluent in rock musical history, I'd be able to tell you which classic artists clearly influenced this or that song, but I can say that the songs sound strangely familiar, yet completely fresh.
As far as the lyrics, aside from their clever wordplay, quirky turns of phrase, and words fitted faultlessly to the music's rhythms, Fountains of Wayne has always had a special knack for adding just the right details to make their characters seem very real and relatable. They seem to have a special insight into the monotony of living in the nondescript suburbs, the daily grind of going to work at less-than-thrilling jobs, and the hassles of traveling for business (or pleasure). Specific cultural and regional references make the songs even more real. Fountains of Wayne gently reveal the vanity and illusion - as well as the poignancy - of the average person's hopes and dreams, with a little humor and empathy. The lonely twentysomething magazine staffer in "Someone to Love" takes her contacts out of her eyes and watches lame sitcoms instead of being out on the town, a tired waitress sips a diet soda after work, a weary couple try to recover their lost luggage, a delusional dude has big plans for his new used car, and a lazy but creative man fends off his impatient creditors... somehow the Fountains songsmiths make compelling stories out of these everyday people.
Currently, my favorite song is "New Routine," in which frustrated single people move around the globe trying to break out of the tired rut of their daily lives. They're missing something, though - in the song, the folks who seem the most content are the two old friends who meet every day in a diner, shooting the breeze, telling each other jokes "that they both know that they both know."
Other standouts (on a disc full of above-average tracks) include "Strapped for Cash," a humorous look at a terminally broke sleazeball (it reminded me of Heywood Banks, and I think it's the most musically interesting track on the album); "Fire in the Canyon," a beautiful, rolling, country-ish song with pretty harmonies woven together; "Hotel Majestic," about a band (wonder who?) on tour, complete with majestic hooks and perfectly placed hey heys; and "Yolanda Hayes," an ode to a mysteriously alluring DMV employee that starts out catchily enough, but builds to a horn-filled crescendo, asking "Who can you trust with your love these days?"
More glowing reviews at http://www.fountainsofwayne.com/press.asp
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