Fountains of Wayne: Sky Full of Holes

It seems there are very few bands making smart, funny guitar pop these days. Fountains of Wayne are one of the few and the best of the bunch. Their fifth album, Sky Full of Holes, is a another solid outing that doesn't feature anything sure to top the charts like "Stacy's Mom" did a few years ago but no matter how poppy Fountains of Wayne's music is (and it's very poppy), it's never really been about "hits" either. Between the pseudo-surf guitar hook of "This Summer Place," the folk-rock shuffle of "Richie and Reuben," the horn fueled 80' pop of "Radio Bar", the steel guitar driven country of "Road Song" and the power pop of "Down By the Water" there are plenty of songs that wouldn't feel out of place on the radio and it's a shame that none of them likely will end up there. While Fountains of Wayne are masters of pop music stylings, it's their lyrics that make them a great band. They're funny, intelligent story songs paint a great picture and sometimes come out of left field (who else would rhyme "Cracker Barrel" with "Will Ferrel?") If there's a downside to Sky Full of Holes it's that a couple songs cross the line from memorable to annoying ("Someone's Gonna Break Your Heart," "Action Hero") and a few of the ballads take a long time to sink in. Sky Full of Holes is certainly not the best Fountains of Wayne album but it's a fine entry into the catalog of a criminally underrated band.

Rating: 3.5

Track Listing:

1. "The Summer Place" (3:31)
2. "Richie and Reuben" (3:32)
3. "Acela" (3:13)
4. "Someone's Gonna Break Your Heart" (3:54)
5. "Action Hero" (4:00)
6. "A Dip In the Ocean" (3:35)
7. "Cold Comfort Flowers" (4:26)
8. "A Road Song" (3:04)
9. "Workingman's Hands" (2:39)
10. "Hate To See You Like This" (4:14)
11. "Radio Bar" (2:56)
12. "Firelight Waltz" (3:14)
13. "Cemetery Guns" (2:54)