Despite their best efforts, Fountains of Wayne didn't quite manage to capitalize on the crossover success of "Stacey's Mom" with 2007's Traffic and Weather, so hearing the power poppers relax into a working band's groove on 2011's Sky Full of Holes is not entirely unexpected. Traffic and Weather had some snap on its surface, thanks largely to the bandmembers running with their encyclopedic pop eclecticism, letting themselves sonically accentuate their witticisms with passing production allusions, but Sky Full of Holes is an ...
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Despite their best efforts, Fountains of Wayne didn't quite manage to capitalize on the crossover success of "Stacey's Mom" with 2007's Traffic and Weather, so hearing the power poppers relax into a working band's groove on 2011's Sky Full of Holes is not entirely unexpected. Traffic and Weather had some snap on its surface, thanks largely to the bandmembers running with their encyclopedic pop eclecticism, letting themselves sonically accentuate their witticisms with passing production allusions, but Sky Full of Holes is an adult alternative pop record through and through, unfussy and unfettered by unnecessary accouterments. It's not necessarily drab -- "Radio Bar" speeds along with the assistance of blaring horns mimicking the vocal line -- but it is straightforward, the songs never reaching beyond the expected, the color never seeping outside of the lines. Straightforward doesn't mean tired, either. Chris Collingwood and Adam Schlesinger's specialty as songwriters has always been turning a trope inside out, finding ways to freshen or invert convention, and while they haven't lost that knack, the directness of Sky Full of Holes turns their tunes into something approaching standard-issue. Of course, savvy semi-satirists that they are, Fountains of Wayne are fully aware when they're skirting cliché, particularly when they've resorted to writing "A Road Song," and they have the skill to keep proceedings tuneful and funny, but this dexterity doesn't always keep Sky Full of Holes from becoming just a tad too comfortable. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
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Add this copy of Sky Full of Holes to cart. $10.11, like new condition, Sold by Symposia rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Hoboken, NJ, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Yep Roc Records.
Add this copy of Sky Full of Holes to cart. $10.50, good condition, Sold by Goodwill Industries rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Miami, FL, UNITED STATES, published 2011.
Add this copy of Sky Full of Holes to cart. $10.89, like new condition, Sold by Streetlight_Records rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Santa Cruz, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Yep Roc Records.
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Add this copy of Sky Full of Holes to cart. $22.65, good condition, Sold by Stephen White Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Bradford, WEST YORKSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2012 by Lojinx.
Add this copy of Sky Full of Holes to cart. $48.25, new condition, Sold by Revaluation Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Exeter, DEVON, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2011 by Redeye Music Distribution: 2247.