Fountains Of Wayne ‘Traffic And Weather’
That ‘Stacey’s Mom’ finally brought Fountains of Wayne to the attention of a wider audience was probably as much a surprise to the band as it was to long-term observers.
Over the course of nearly a decade, the New Jersey quartet specialised in fusing hook-laden pop nuggets with piercing insights into the lives of bored and listless suburbanites in a way that was neither judgemental nor dispassionate and in doing so ensured that each subsequent release was a cause for celebration. And yet, somehow, their perfectly formed vignettes eluded the approval of the buying masses.
2003’s ‘Welcome Interstate Managers’ – and specifically its hit single – did much to change that. A culmination of all that had preceded it, Fountains of Wayne’s third album had much to recommend it. Populated by alcoholic salesmen, hopeless losers and those too self-absorbed to even consider an alternative to their drone-like existence, the grind of unfulfilling white-collar life was dissected with equal parts wit and compassion; that it was propelled by music so in thrall to power pop was simply confirmation of its brilliance.
Given such a pedigree, it’s sad to report that ‘Traffic And Weather’ treads water in a sea of mediocrity. For once, it’s difficult to care about the characters that inhabit Fountains of Wayne’s fourth album and the suspicion lingers that songwriters Chris Collingwood and Adam Schlesinger are clutching at straws; whereas previously tracks like ‘Sick Day’ or ‘Bright Future In Sales’ offered a sympathetic analysis of their subject matters, ‘Michael And Heather At The Baggage Claim’ feels decidedly forced.
Likewise ‘Yolanda Hayes’ that concerns itself with chatting up the woman behind the counter at the Department of Motor Vehicles who’s “explaining patiently/How she needs to see six forms of ID" or the TV anchors of the title track who flirt during the news breaks.
Even the band’s trademark pop hooks are formulaic. ‘Someone To Love’’s disco inflection smacks more of smugness than invention while the vapid ‘Planet of Weed’ could well be the worst thing they’ve ever done and you can pretty much set your watch by the arrival of the countrified ‘Fire In The Canyon’. Consequently, ‘Traffic And Weather’ finds itself sorely lacking in a single stand out track.
The lack of interesting personalities and stories to tell are all tied to a workmanlike song writing approach and the end result is an album that’s as mundane and routine as the lifestyles that it purports to scrutinize.
Fountains of Wayne ‘Traffic and Weather’ (Virgin) Released May 7, 2007.
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