Although it took Tom Hanks' Hollywood muscle to propel a pop soundtrack onto the charts, there's no denying that the title track to "That Thing You Do" is a killer pop single. As life imitates art and the song streaks up the charts, attention has thankfully been directed at its writers, Adam Schlesinger and Mike Viola. While neither band sounds like the fictional Wonders (I'd buy a Rubinoos record for that!), both releases will please pop fans.
Viola's band, the Candy Butchers, have released a five-track live EP; two songs are from the upcoming self-titled CD. Recorded as a duo, tracks like "Bells On A Leper" are reminiscent of East Side Story-era Squeeze, both in vocal style and witty wordplay. Viola's slightly raspy harmonies with partner Todd Foulsham have the classic appeal that all good pop from the Everlys to The Posies is built upon. This is occasionally offset by lyrics that are anything but fluff, like the plea from the obsessive unrequited lover in "Till You Die". Grab this for a solid taste of a good band.
Fountains Of Wayne is a horrible name for a book, let alone a band, but get past that and there's a Whitman's Sampler of pop waiting for you. FOW wear their roots on their sleeves, from the Beatle-ish harmonies to their more lo-fi heroes ("Leave The Biker" is a hysterical song that They Might Be Giants would kill for). "Survival Car" and the slower paced "She's Got A Problem" hits the mark the Lemonheads can't, and I can best describe "I've Got A Flair" as a head-on collision between Cheap Trick's "Dream Police" and the Beach Boys' "Help Me Rhonda" - really! Strands of Beach Boys, Raspberries and even the Ramones are dumped into a blender and whipped into a delicious confection of strong harmonies and melodies that will not leave your brain. There's a big difference between being derivative and being a product of your influences, and FOW is definitely the latter. Quite simply, this is one of the best pop records of the year.
While I'm excited by the success of That Thing You Do, I don't expect it to wake the rest of the world up to the great pop scene that struggles for recognition. But if it helps get these two bands a little more notoriety, well, that's a start.
