Yes, these are the guys that made Stacy’s Mom. Can we move on? Please? That was eight years ago.
Sorry, it’s annoying that a band with so much great material is still stuck with and known for a single overplayed song. Sure, it’s great, but they have so much other good stuff.
Fountains of Wayne go way back with my family; perhaps that’s why I’m a bit defensive. Welcome Interstate Managers—which yes, I’ll admit, my dad did purchase because it was the record with Stacy’s Mom on it—became the soundtrack to countless road trips, and to my preteen years in general. If I’m reminiscing about being an eleven-year-old for whatever reason, Mexican Wine or All Kinds of Time will always start playing in my head.
Somehow, I’ve made it through the rest of my life without listening to anything else by this oh-so-important band. Is that a little hypocritical? Perhaps. Haters gon hate.
But, I figured that the time had come. Last.fm informed me that Fountains had recently released a new record, and now we find ourselves here. Guess what? They still kick ass.
That trademark upbeat power-pop hasn’t gone anywhere, and front man Adam Schlesinger’s almost-obnoxious nasally voice still has the power to put anyone (well, me at least) in a good mood.
I did notice that the band isn’t genre experimenting anymore. There’s no ill-advised country song (although Road Song gets uncomfortably close) or trippy attempt at 60s rock on this record. All I have to say to that is thank god.
Swole Ear 