by Nitsuh Abebe

Every so often, a band comes along that digs back into what pop music is all about -- good, fun tunes. Fountains of Wayne is one such band. The wonderful thing about the duo (singer Chris Collingwood and bassist Adam Schlesinger of Ivy) is that they manage not to be overtly retro -- the album is a wholly modern production. The only non-modern aspect of it is the fact that the songwriting is so straightforward and wonderful; nearly every song is a pop gem. The result is an album that's almost innovative, when you really think about it -- very few albums released in the '90s have been this pleasant, charming, and all-around likeable. The obvious reference points would be Teenage Fanclub, Big Star, and the Posies, but even these don't quite capture the duo's sound. Think of some of They Might Be Giants' best pop tunes and scrape away every trace of silliness, and you'll be a little closer.