Fountains of Wayne: Out-Of-State Plates : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Thanks to the hypnotically catchy "Stacy's Mom," the thirtyish power-pop ironists in Fountains of Wayne became 2003's least likely, and most deserving, TRL breakout band. Their new two-CD compilation is both a victory lap and a place holder until their next real album, combining B sides, outtakes and two fresh songs (the crunchy "Maureen" and the forgettable "Girl I Can't Forget"). But songwriters Adam Schlesinger and Chris Collingwood's fecund melodic gifts make even odds-and-sods piffle such as "I Want an Alien for Christmas" worth hearing more than once. And despite their origins as discards, the thirty tracks are packed with prime material like the hilarious Seventies-rock pastiche "California Sex Lawyer" and the Oasis-ish hard rocker "Elevator Up." Best of all, the compilation marks the first official release of FOW's brilliant rock-ballad cover of Britney Spears' " . . . Baby One More Time." Strangely enough, it fits right in.