Welcome Interstate Managers
Built on the solid structure of Adam Schlesinger’s frequently perfect songwriting, Fountains of Wayne brought power pop back to mass acceptance in the late 1990s. It was in the early 2000s that they really broke through, though, when they had their biggest hit: a clever novelty song titled “Stacy’s Mom.” Their wry humor and seemingly effortless way with a melodic hook sometimes bring to mind They Might Be Giants – though where the latter revel in goofy surrealism, Fountains of Wayne always couched their humor in pure rock formalism. Welcome Interstate Managerscame midway through the band’s career and is a good place to start: if the sharp-eyed “Bright Future in Sales” and the crispy-crunchy guitars on “Little Red Light” turn your crank – and they will – then go back to their self-titled debut and start at the beginning.
