Welcome Interstate Managers - Page 2

It still works, too. The songs may be a hair edgier-- "Bright Future in Sales" is probably the catchiest song about self-destructive alcoholism that you'll ever hear-- but they're no less successful as pop songs.

I don't mean to suggest that it's all a re-tread, though. The mid-tempo ballads are a little sweeter-- "Hackensack" is a wonderful loser love song (think Pearl Jam's "Elderly Woman Behind a Counter in a Small Town," only with harmony), while "Valley Winter Song" is just plain nice-- and a few new sounds pop up unexpectedly. "Hey Julie" is a catchy little acoustic number that sounds like a "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" for the Office Space crowd-- you can picture frustrated cubicle dwellers sitting cross-legged around the copier singing along, passing a joint around the circle, and desperately hoping that there won't be a random drug test on Monday. The biggest surprise is probably "Hung Up On You," a surprisingly straight (and very good) country tune.

In the end, this isn't quite as good as Utopia Parkway-- "Halley's Waitress" and "Supercollider" just aren't very good songs, and some of the others are fairly forgettable-- but it's the best record I've bought in a good while. If you enjoy well-crafted pop songs, and are looking for something new to play while loafing around in the sun this summer, well, go buy this album. And while you're there, grab copies of Utopia Parkway and 1965, too.

Article Author: Chad Orzel

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