8. Look Park - Minor Is The Lonely Key
Fountains of Wayne are one of my favourite bands of the last 20 years. They only released five albums in that time, but I loved every one. Since their last one came out in 2011, I was hoping this might be the year they popped up to surprise us again. Imagine my heartbreak then, on hearing they'd called it a day... only to find some succour on discovering that half of the songwriting partnership behind FoW, Chris Collingwood, had formed a new band, Look Park.
Early interviews with Collingwood suggested that Look Park had a different sound to the traditional FoW power-pop and that his songwriting had also developed and "matured". That's a word which fills me with dread when I hear it from bands who excel at quirkiness and humour, and when Collingwood also revealed that his former FoW partner, Adam Schlesinger was responsible for putting more of the the f-u-n in FoUNtains, I got a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. (Collingwood even invoked the B-word as an influence, which is never a good sign. Oasis, anybody?)
Anyway, I like the Look Park record. Collingwood's voice is always a pleasure, and there are some beautiful images in his songwriting. It's a sad album though, and it lacks the wit and novelistic approach to character that made the Fountains so special. It's a fine solo album, but as with most solo albums, it does make you yearn to hear the full band get back together. (And let's face it, Look Park is a pretty bland band name.) I should probably spend a little time with Schlesinger's side-project, Tinted Windows while I'm waiting for the reunion Collingwood describes as unlikely.
Here's my favourite song on the record...
I was a big fan of the first two Fountains of Wayne records (and saw them live at Dingwalls in 1997), but lost track of them a bit after that. I can't see the Look Park tune anywhere in your post, but went over to YouTube to find it. It sounds strong despite, as you suggest, perhaps missing a certain something. I'll definitely check out the rest of the album though.
ReplyDeleteVery annoying when blogger deletes a video from my post. It was there in the draft! Thanks for going the extra step, Swede.
ReplyDeleteI'd highly recommend the 3rd and 4th FoW records if you liked the first two. The fifth is also good, though now I can hear the transition in it towards Look Park.
Didn't Tony Soprano buy his water feature from Fountains of Wayne?
ReplyDeleteSadly, I never made it past the first episode of The Sopranos, even though everyone I know swears by it. I should try again, but not enough hours in the day!
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