Fountains Of Wayne – Welcome Interstate Managers (2003)

A trip to the local Oxfam this weekend yielded a few results, and for some reason I was in the mood for a punt, so parted with a quid for this, knowing little about the band.

Fountains Of Wayne founded in New York City in 1995, and this, their third album was, apparently their breakthrough in commercial terms.

After one listen, it seems to consist of mercifully short pop songs, which are perfectly OK, but display little which sets them apart from thousands of bands doing similar. It feels like the kind of thing my daughter (she was 11 when this was released) would have listened to, alongside Avril Lavigne and Busted, and I can't get my head past that - guitar driven simple pop songs.

Some are quite nice - the single Stacy's Mom is OK, and Bright Future in Sales is ...er...bright. No Better Place is a decent song. On the other hand there is also the truly horrible in Hung Up On You, a terrible C&W attempt, and a wimpy ballad Fire Island. The best songs are the loudest, such as the punkish Little Red Light, and towards the end, the Sgt Pepperesque Supercollider is interesting.

But this isn't for me, it feels mostly limp and uninspiring.

Link to album tracks

2* - nothing that hundreds of bands aren't doing. Listenably dull.