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Fountains of Wayne
Traffic and Weather
(Virgin/EMI)
Comedians will tell you being funny is serious business. Musicians will tell you writing great songs is hard work. By those measures, Fountains of Wayne -- or at least their frontmen and tunesmiths Adam Schlesinger and Chris Collingswood -- must be the most serious guys on Earth. Though, as usual, you'd never know it from their music.
The wonderful Traffic and Weather, the New York pop-rockers' fourth album, picks up right where they left off with 2003's star-making Welcome Interstate Managers.
Which is to say: It's another set of archly witty, sharply detailed and impeccably crafted ditties about jealous yuppies, lost luggage, pimped-out '92 Subarus, lonely twentysomethings, weed and crushing on the clerk at the DMV. And it all deftly mines a wealth of influences, from Revolver-era Beatle-pop to Billy Joel to country to synth-laced new wave to trendy dance-rock.
It might not boast an obvious smash single like Stacy's Mom, but don't let that deter you -- when it comes to smart, superb songcraft, Fountains of Wayne have still got it going on.
Seriously.
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Track Listing:
1. Someone To Love
2. '92 Subaru
3. Yolanda Hayes
4. Traffic And Weather
5. Fire In The Canyon
6. This Better Be Good
7. Revolving Dora
8. Michael And Heather At The Baggage Claim
9. Strapped For Cash
10. I-95
11. Hotel Majestic
12. Planet Of Weed
13. New Routine
14. Seatbacks And Traytables