Welcome Interstate Managers is the newest release by the New York-based Fountains of Wayne. It is the third album of a band previously known as Are You My Mother? and Three Men Who When Standing Side By Side Have A Wingspan Of Over 12 Feet. They ended up naming their band after a lawn ornament store in Wayne, New Jersey.
This album is so catchy, it’s aggravating. It’s packed full of likeable pop songs reminiscent of a variety of pop artists over the past 50 years. While listening to the album, you can catch bits and pieces of such past artists as the Cars, the Hollies, and Buddy Holly. But, instead of singing about the pretty Peggy Sue, Fountains of Wayne are crooning about "Stacy’s Mom." Not only does FOW sing about parents that "got it going on," they also acknowledge the influences drinking, drugs, ignorant waitresses and traffic jams have had on their lives.
The best way to listen to Welcome Interstate Managers would not be while sitting on your bed with headphones on, reflecting on Voltaire; it would be a great album to have playing as background noise at a party or cranked while driving with your windows open.