New Music Reviews - 8/2/2011 - Fountains of Wayne, O.A.R., and Keb Mo

Fountains of Wayne Sky Full of Holes - The four member pop band from New York named after a lawn ornament store in Wayne, New Jersey follow their pretty regular pattern of releasing a new album every four years.  Jeez, has it really been eight years since Rachel Hunter reminded us how how she still can be in the popular and breakout video for the band, "Stacy's Mom"?  This album brings us 13 new power pop songs and acoustic-driven ballads to whet our appetites.

The album begins with the fun "The Summer Place" that shows they still can pull the power pop strings with its simple but bewitching melody.  "Acela" is a cleverly worded and jaunty song about making a love connection on a train.  However acoustic-driven songs like "Someone's Gonna Break Your Heart" or "Action Hero" don't have the oomph or the dynamic sound that the band can reach at it's greatest heights.  "Cold Comfort Flowers" has potent lyrics and the song as a whole is enhanced by the subtle but welcome piano work in the refrain and chorus.  Then you get tracks like "Firelight Waltz" with its slow country twang that act as a serious disconnect to the rest of the album. 

Sky Full of Holes is a somewhat entertaining release that has some modest bright spots although it doesn't do enough to separate it from other pop releases from this summer.  It might be the amount of time since I last heard one of their albums but frontman Chris Collingwood's vocals are sounding more and more like John Flansburg with its high tenor, east coast twang.  The ballads end up being the biggest letdowns with very monotonous melodies that never seem to go anywhere.  The songwriting in terms of storytelling is still very compelling and interesting and that helps buoy the album over the humdrum parts.  Unfortunately, I can only recommend this release to fans of the band as their isn't enough to entice new or casual fans. 

Score: 5.5/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Acela" and "Cold Comfort Flowers" [sample it below]

O.A.R. King - Alternative jam band O.A.R., which stands for Of A Revolution, release their seventh studio album.  Like most jam bands, live shows is where O.A.R. really shines usually playing versions of their songs that are more rollicking and longer lasting than what can be found on the album.  Their last album, 2008's All Sides, was their biggest commercial success ranking as high as number 12 on the U.S. charts.  This is the band's first album under record label Wind-up Records which also handles releases for bands like People in Planes and Evanescence.  King is a very lively and energetic album with well layered vocal and instrumental tracks.  The best tracks are the ones that the bands branches out on by incorporating non-standard instruments (although not completely non-standard for O.A.R. albums) like a horn section to create a more complex and robust sound ("Not For Me" and "Are You Low").  Unfortunately, the energy and complexity don't carry over to the wearying ballads which seem overly cookie cutter.  Overall it's a generally fun album that seems to be channeling early Sublime tunes with its carefree feel and light ska touches.  King isn't king of the summer albums but it's certainly not a jester either.  Maybe "Jack" or "Ten of Spades" would have been a better title.

Score: 6.5/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Not For Me" [sample it below] and "We Made It - Interlude Part I"

Keb Mo The Reflection - Legendary blues singer/songwriter/guitarist Kevin Moore, AKA Keb Mo, releases an album of new school blues jams and old school funk grooves.  Helping out on the 12 tracks of this album are well-known performers like India.Arie, Vince Gill, and Dave Koz, among others.  The Reflection is an album chock full of groovy jazz and blues songs that are primarily soulful, guitar driven ditties.  Keb Mo does show his age a little as some of the songs venture beyond his blues background into more bland adult contemporary melodies.  A good album to play at a dinner party with friends, it has a lot of tunes that are engaging without being overpowering.

Score: 7.5/10
Song(s) to Sample: "The Whole Enchilada" [sample it below] and "Crush On You"