Fountains Of Wayne Traffic And Weather CD

Almost four years after Fountains of Wayne's mainstream breakthrough, 2003's WELCOME INTERSTATE MANAGERS, the New York City-based quartet returned with the full-length studio album TRAFFIC AND WEATHER. Another set of exuberant power-pop, this 14-track outing finds songwriters Chris Collingwood (lead vocals, guitar) and Adam Schlesinger (bass, backing vocals) once again offering up more catchy hooks and melodies in one tune than most bands can muster on an entire record. While the group's 1960s/'70s rock influences are still readily apparent (see the Beatlesque "Yolanda Hayes" and the Warren Zevon-like "'92 Subaru"), Collingwood and Schlesinger are capable of sounding utterly contemporary, as on the energetic and undeniably enjoyable opener, "Someone to Love," proving that FOW has something for almost any pop/rock fan.Rolling Stone (p.62) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]here's no one else like them....[They] invent many dandy new ways not to be in love."
Spin (p.87) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "TRAFFIC is populated by astutely observed characters....It's like an alt-rock adaptation of a John Cheever anthology."
Entertainment Weekly (p.74) - "[T]he perfectly chosen details actually add emotional depth to the lyrical vignettes, bringing them to vivid life..." -- Grade: B+
Magnet (p.98) - "[B]right, hook-based pop, with an occasional in-joke that every now and then suggests FoW knows exactly what vein it's working."
CMJ (p.42) - "[They turn] the humdrum monotony of interstate travel and 9-to-5 grind into the snappiest of semi-swagger pop."
No Depression (p.85) - "TRAFFIC AND WEATHER is a procession of deadpan vignettes fitted with delectable guitar-driven melodies."