CD Reviews

Fountains of Wayne | Sky Full of Holes

Yep Roc (2011)

By RYAN REED | August 3, 2011

3.0 Stars

Instead of a "Stacy's Mom" joke, I'd like to open this review with notable Fountains of Wayne statistics. Adam Schlesinger, bassist/co-songwriter/producer since the band's mid-'90s inception, has received nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, a Tony, an Emmy, three Grammys (one win, for the aforementioned "Stacy's Mom"), and a daytime Emmy. He's one decorated dude, snatching up prizes like Boy Scout badges, collaborating with folks as diverse as Katy Perry, Stephen Colbert, and the gang from Sesame Street. But Sky Full of Holes, the first Fountains album in four years, is another reminder of why the band deserve some limelight of their own. The wordplay is stellar as always, the hilarious couplets and stinging one-liners landing quickly and furiously on tracks like opener "The Summer Place." But it's the sugar-coated melodies that are still the strongest selling point ("Richie and Ruben" is a swelling, romantic pop gem). The production is one-dimensional, and, at 45 minutes, the wondrous power pop loses a bit of its sheen as the tracks barrel onward. "Radio Bar" is a charming tale of camaraderie surviving disillusionment, but its sanitized horn stabs and obvious melodies are an awkward whiff of Jimmy Buffett. It's still catchy, effortless — just like everything else on Sky Full of Holes. Even when Fountains of Wayne are phoning it in, they're never less than professional. Think of this as a thoughtfully-written greeting card of an album.

FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE + NICOLE ATKINS | Brighton Music Hall, 158 Brighton Ave, Allston | Aug 12 + 13 @ 8 pm | $12 | 18+ | 617.779.0140

KT Tunstall | Tiger Suit
The KT Tunstall of Tiger Suit is tougher, louder, and more electronically endowed than the KT Tunstall of its poppy predecessor, 2007's Drastic Fantastic , and Eye to the Telescope three years before that.
The Sounds | Something To Die For
The recent news that British electronic act Faithless have called it a day no doubt left dejected ravers reaching for extra MDMA to stave off the tears.
Emmylou Harris | Hard Bargain
Anyone with a passing knowledge of Emmylou Harris will recognize that "The Road," the opening track on Hard Bargain, is about Gram Parsons and the relationship that kicked off her career 40 years ago.
Cults | Cults
Don't let the ominous band name or Brooklyn-hipster über cool of boy-girl duo Madeline Follin and Brian Oblivion fool you. Beneath the surface, they're just a couple of crazy kids in love — with each other and with the saccharine sounds of the Brill Building '60s.
Woods | Sun & Shade
As with previous Woods records the instantly entrancing element is Earl's Neil Young–inspired falsetto, wrapped in swirls of gauzy tape hiss.
The tasty return of Cibo Matto
There's been a lot of talk recently about how the '90s are back, much of it by me.
The Horrors | Skying
Skying is an epic swash of shoegaze, Britpop, and succulent reverb rock.
Nicole Atkins finds peace in her darkness
A lot seemed to go wrong for Atkins after Columbia Records released her classic-pop imbued debut Neptune City four years ago. The singer of the newly rechristened Nicole Atkins and the Black Sea watched everyone responsible for getting her signed to a coveted major label deal get fired within months.
Male Bonding | Endless Now
The trio's punk roots still play out via tight, punchy percussion, but it's the huge guitars and dreamy vocals that are most upfront.
Viva Brother connect Britpop to gritpop
"When we started this band, it was the result of looking back and finding the last great era of music — and that was Britpop," says cool and confident singer/guitarist Leonard "Lee" Newell on the phone from the UK.
The War on Drugs | Slave Ambient
On Slave Ambient, Granduciel's love of tranced-out, yet strangely filtered arena rock jams is on full display.
Less

Topics: CD Reviews , Music, Adam Schlesinger, Fountains of Wayne, More

| More

Most Popular

The Current Issue

Table of Contents

Cover Archive

Masthead | Authors | Contact us

Blogs

Where To Follow Me
Talking Politics | March 24, 2013 at 11:09 AM

Mo Takes His Turn
March 21, 2013 at 12:59 PM

[Q&A] KMFDM's Sascha Konietzko on art, Columbine and having balls
On The Download | March 18, 2013 at 3:22 PM

See this film series: The Belmont World Film Series @ Studio Cinema in Belmont
Outside The Frame | March 18, 2013 at 11:00 AM

See this film: This is Spinal Tap [with post-film talk by expert from Acoustical Society of America] @ the Coolidge
March 17, 2013 at 12:00 PM

ARTICLES BY RYAN REED

WAVVES | AFRAID OF HEIGHTS | March 18, 2013
"I Can't Dream," the closer on Wavves' fourth studio album, opens in a drunken lo-fi stupor — Nathan Williams warbling bratty, tone-deaf nonsense over hissy acoustic power chords.

THE VIRGINS | STRIKE GENTLY | March 06, 2013
After a half-decade of semi-obscurity, frontman Donald Cumming is redefining his band as the hipster sultans of swing.

ATOMS FOR PEACE | AMOK | February 26, 2013
Kid A , Radiohead's confounding electro-rock masterpiece, is officially hitting puberty.

ATLAS GENIUS | WHEN IT WAS NOW | February 20, 2013
Atlas Genius are schooled students of modern pop architecture, seamlessly bouncing from Coldplay-styled acoustic rock to fizzy Phoenix funkiness to deadpanned Strokes-ian guitar chug. But When It Was Now is more like an alt-pop NOW compilation than a joyous synthesis.