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Fountains Of Wayne - Welcome Interstate Managers |
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06 August 2005 |
Fountains Of Wayne Welcome Interstate Managers - (S-Curve) On the surface, the new Fountains Of Wayne album seems to be all about drinking, just to survive boring day jobs somewhere on the East Coast. I mean, it's an album that begins with a track called "Mexican Wine," for heaven's sake! But dreary jobs and booze are just a few of the primary elements within this duo's classic pop world -- which is a pop planet that can actually make even the dullest of circumstances seem interesting. The character in "Bright Future In Sales" may be trying extra hard to act all grown up, but elsewhere, such as with "Stacy's Mom," the fellas give us a stuttering vocalized and juvenile song full of lust for the maternal (a la "The Graduate"). Then on "Fire Island" -- which fondly recalls partying at the house when the parents have left on vacation without the kids -- the group once again expresses equally primitive desires. F.O.W. play straight pop-rock much of the time here, but "Valley Winter Song" throws the listener a curve that nicely summons a Bob Dylan-esque "Blood On The Tracks" sound, and "Hung Up on You" (with its twang-y lead and pedal steel) is pure and simple straight country, without a drop of chaser. This band is so much greater than just an aural pleasure, however, and "Welcome" includes more than its share of memorable lyrical nuggets. For example, "Hackensack" includes the couplet: "I saw you talkin' to Christopher Walken on my TV Screen." Also, there's just something ingenious about the way football terminology is transformed into a gem like "All Kinds of Time." Similarly, "Welcome Interstate Managers" is one album you really should spend all kinds of time with.
9.0
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