Beyond the knowing writing, which makes them seem like regular guys having smirky fun rather than pretentious pop auteurs, the “Don’t Fear the Reaper” coda of “I’ve Got a Flair” proves just how regular - and special - they are.
Whatever a “Survival Car” is, the song by that name rocks like crazy, and “Sick Day” limns the misery of nine-to-five office life in an airy acoustic ballad. Hysterical personal attacks like “Leave the Biker” (“crumbs in his beard from the seafood special”) and “Radiation Vibe” (“he’s just a dumb ape reading Playboy on the couch”) are leavened by such loving critiques as “Joe Rey,” “She’s Got a Problem,” “You Curse at Girls” and “Barbara H.” Either way, the duo finds ways to make genial hate fun, even setting themselves up in “Please Don’t Rock Me Tonight” and “I’ve Got a Flair” (“for getting in your hair and making you crazy”). Without exactly reinventing the power pop wheel, Fountains of Wayne (named for a garden equipment store in Wayne, New Jersey that has since been seen in The Sopranos) is a rare marvel of sterling melodies, sharp post-punk playing and lyrics sprung from a winningly laconic attitude and a passive-aggressive nerd’s sardonic sense of humor. As Fountains of Wayne, with a major label deal through a label co-owned by Schlesinger, James Iha and others, the duo (quickly expanded to a permanent quartet for touring and future work) eclipsed Ivy’s stature. In 1996, Ivy bassist/drummer/songwriter Adam Schlesinger turned a longtime friendship into a creative partnership and recorded a marvelous album of rare electric pop wit and ingenuity with singer/guitarist Chris Collingwood.
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