REVIEW: Fountains of Wayne, Utopia Parkway (Atlantic)
- Mike Bederka
Welcome to the ranks of another pop band with another typical pop album. Nothing special. Nothing horrible. Fountains of Wayne is back on the scene after a few-year hiatus with its latest, Utopia Parkway. And in an attempt to follow its critically acclaimed self-titled debut, FOW continues the trend of its three-minute rock about nothing in particular. "I'm just a hat and feet / that's all that's left of me," sings Chris Collingwood and Adam Schlesinger on "Hat and Feet."
For the most part, the 45-minute disc lacks the drive to make it resemble its 1996 predecessor. But that doesn't mean there aren't any standout numbers on the 14-track album. "Denise," the two-and-a-half minute ode to a cold-hearted travel agent, breaks the mold and turns up the guitars and distortion a bit. And "Go, Hippie" scores some points for it quality lyrics. "Some days you get so tired of hanging / trying to deep-fry all your boredom." Fountains of Wayne may have found it to be smooth sailing on the pop parkway, but to call it Utopia would be pretty ridiculous.
