Fountains of Wayne: Welcome Interstate Managers (B+) (A)

MAY 9, 2003

There's no denying it. I love Fountains of Wayne. I always have and probably always will. So when I happened upon a copy of the album while at work I nearly wet my pants. It's been four years since Utopia Parkway was released and this record has been in the works for half that time. And now that I have listened to it (about 6 times), I am incredibly happy. It easily lives up to what they've done in the past.

Like most FOW records, the first five or six songs are excellent, especially the lead-off tune, "Mexican Wine." In this run of songs you have the big single, "Stacy's Mom," which stands out in the record the same way "Denise" did in Utopia Parkway. It's a good song, but it was clearly created under the "single" pretense. My favorite song, by far, is "Hey Julie," which does not come in the first half of the record, but may be the best love song of all time. It reminds of my perfect version of "Uncle John's Band" by the Dead.

As you may have guessed from the title, this album is something of a concept album about office life. "Hey Julie," "Bright Future in Sales," and "Mexican Wine" are all definitely related to office life, and I'm sure others are as well but I can't remember at the moment. I gotta say, a good concept album is tough to do and FOW pull it off.

I gave this record a B+ for the same reason a teacher doesn't always give her best student an A. I love FOW and expect more from them than other bands, and although this record is excellent I can't say it's better than their first two. Of course, I've been listening to those regularly for years.

If you're a fan of indie pop, or regular pop for that matter, you must buy this record. No questions asked. These are two of the finest songwriters of all time and you owe it to yourself to hear this record when it comes out on June 10th. Go forth and enjoy.

UPDATE: After giving this album another ten listens, I have decided that it is indeed worthy of a complete A. It is on par with their other records; I just needed some time to let it all sink in.

Posted in CD at 2:18 pm.