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Performer: Fountains of Wayne
Engineer: Mike Denneen; Richard Furch
Distributor: EMI Music Distribution

Notes: Fountains Of Wayne: Adam Schlesinger (vocals, guitar, keyboards, bass); Chris Collingwood (vocals, guitar); Jody Porter (vocals); Brian Young (drums, percussion). Additional personnel: James Iha, Jen Tryin (guitar); Ronnie Buttacavol (trumpet, flugelhorn). Producers: Adam Schlesinger, Chris Collingwood, Mike Dennen. Recorded at Stratosphere Sound, New York, New York; Q Division, Somerville, Massachusetts; The Clubhouse, Rhineback, New York. Fountains Of Wayne was nominated for the 2004 Grammy Award for Best New Artist. "Stacy's Mom" was nominated for Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal. Personnel: Chris Collingwood, Jody Porter (vocals, guitar); Jennifer Trynin (guitar, background vocals); James Iha (guitar); Ronnie Buttacavoli (trumpet, flugelhorn); Brian Young (drums, percussion). Audio Mixer: Tom Lord-Alge. Recording information: Q Division, Somerville, MA; STratosphere Sound, New York, NY; The Clubhouse, Rhinebeck, NY. Photographer: Joseph Cultice. Following a four-year hiatus that found Fountains of Wayne going from Atlantic Records to S-Curve Records, New Jersey's favorite power-pop outfit delivers WELCOME INTERSTATE MANAGERS, the band's third opus. FOW does an excellent job of capturing the suburban zeitgeist that dates back to the band's name (derived from a Garden State backyard fixtures emporium) and carrying on from 1999's excellent UTOPIA PARKWAY. Wielding boatloads of hooks and harmonies, Adam Schlesinger and Chris Collingwood delight with songs about high school sweethearts (the melancholy "Hackensack"), a good woman's love in the face of a crap job (a sweet, semi-acoustic "Hey Julie"), and exploding cell phones (an anthemic "Mexican Wine"). With its handclaps, rad harmonies and perky synths, the irresistible "Stacy's Mom" fantasizes about a best friend's mom, and seems tailor-made for any future American Pie sequels. Other pop manna includes the Beatlesque "Fire Island," the country-fried "Hung Up On You" (featuring guest lap steel player Robert Randolph), and the Brit-pop psychedelia of "No Better Place." WELCOME INTERSTATE MANAGERS easily notches a place on any Best of 2003 list.

Rolling Stone (12/25/03, p.105) - Included in Rolling Stone's "50 Best Albums of 2003" Rolling Stone (6/12/03, p.94) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...Bubbles over with unpretentious power pop..." Spin (7/03, p.109) - "...[With] shimmering songs....The choruses explode like fireworks over a church picnic..." - Grade: A Entertainment Weekly (6/13/03, p.92) - "...Front-loaded...with a triple punch of joyously clever power pop..." - Rating: A- Q (01/01/04, p.75) - Ranked #43 in Q's "The 50 Best Albums of 2003" Q (10/03, p.104) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Moments of wry genius make a very special record..." CMJ (6/30/03, p.19) - "Fountains of Wayne are known for one thing: giant, sugary power-pop that melts in your ears and unleashes hook-laden euphoria on your brain..." Mojo (Publisher) (7/03, p.108) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...WELCOME INTERSTATE MANAGERS celebrates the little people with full powerpop majesty..."

Fountains of Wayne, built around singer/songwriters Adam Schlesinger and Chris Collingwood, appeared in the mid-1990s with a hook-filled power-pop sound that acknowledged '60s and '70s influences but was unmistakably informed by a contemporary alt-rock sensibility. While their first two albums were well received (and they scored a minor hit in 1996 with "Radiation Vibe"), it wasn't until their third, 2003's WELCOME INTERSTATE MANAGERS, that they finally achieved major stardom with the single "Stacy's Mom." Along the way, they also garnered an Oscar nomination for the incredibly catchy theme song they wrote for the 1996 rock-fable film THAT THING YOU DO.

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