Fountains of Wayne - Out-of-State Plates

With Out-of-State-Plates, Fountains of Wayne present a compilation of bonus tracks, covers, live versions, unreleased material and other odds and ends that fell through the cracks over the last ten years or so. The two-disc set is neatly wrapped in the band’s self-deprecating humor and underplayed wit. The cover art says it all - stacks of crushed cars like so many songs in a bleak, industrial landscape. Disc one is the tightest of the coupling. The NPR opening snippet, blasting power-pop, infectious hooks and relaxed ballads are familiar earmarks of the pop-rock professionals. Although the song selection spans several years and various recording environments, the disc is well-ordered and sounds good from one song to the next. Disc two is more of a free-for-all, with decidedly quirky additions. You may find yourself hitting the skip button over the three holiday tracks, including “I want an alien for Christmas,” which was originally recorded for a Hanson Christmas album but went unused. In the liner notes, the band includes a little commentary for each song, including their cover of Britney Spears’ “…Baby one more time” from the Utopia Parkway era. “The label began to discuss using this song as our first single,” writes band co-founder Schlesinger. “We - perhaps foolishly - decided not to release it at all.” Fans should enjoy this and the rest of Out-of-State-Plates, but those unfamiliar with Fountains of Wayne are better off checking out their last studio release, Welcome Interstate Managers, first. To sum it up, Out-of-State-Plates is a bunch of leftover crap from other endeavors. But apparently Fountains of Wayne’s shit doesn’t stink. [www.fountainsofwayne.com]