Fountains of Wayne – Welcome Interstate Managers

Originally Released 10th June 2003. Review not previously published.

I have to admit, I was expecting another dose of wily nerd-pop, a pale East Coast homage to Weezer and other such mock-my-inadequacy formula US college rock outfits. FOW’s previous work had been both earnest and melodic in equal measure and the raw songwriting materials necessary to go further were clearly there, but their back catalogue barely hinted at the coming of age that was Welcome Interstate Managers.

It was the nicest of surprises. Ignore the American Pie teenage crush goofery of the (Hopefully) very ironic hit single “Stacy’s Mom”, but if you rightly hated it at the time and wrongly dismissed FOW as nip-slip slobbering jerkoffs, think again. Lead protagonists Chris Collingwood and Adam Schlesinger created a dazzling thatched quilt of an album from numerous influences, taking The Beach Boys and Simon and Garfunkel and mastering the trick of being…