Welcome Interstate Managers
After a four-year hiatus notable for some film and television soundtrack work, a lapsed contract, and a relaxed songwriting schedule Fountains of Wayne return with their third and best CD to date. The New York-based power-pop quartet delivers a diverse feast of infectious melodies and endlessly clever lyrics. Songwriters Adam Schlesinger and Chris Collingwood still slide on a sweet scale between theBeatlesand theMonkees, but they've branched out from '60s sounds to include bona fide alt rock ("Little Red Light," "Bought for a Song"), orchestrated pop ("Halley's Waitress"), a country lark worthy ofDwight Yoakam("Hung Up On You"), and hints of psychedelia ("Supercollider"). TheCars-flavored "Bright Future in Sales" and "Stacy's Mom" warrant heavy-rotation airplay. Following their acclaimed eponymousdebutand the vastly underratedUtopia Parkway,Welcome Interstate Managersleaves no doubt that Fountains of Wayne are gaining strength.--Jeff Shannon