Utopia Parkway

In an ideal world where people of consummate good taste (Er, anyone we know,George? - Ed) ruled the radio waves, the much-maligned genre of power pop would - by rights - be an airplay staple and practitioners of this noble art such as Fountains Of Wayne would be global megastars instead of scuffling for nightime slots like guitar-toting guerillas while the hours of light are blighted by karaoke versions of minor Anne Murray hits (Jesus, did we fight and die in the Punk Wars for this?)

Unfortunately, tunetastic titans like FOW, Teenage Fanclub, Cotton Mather, The Hormones, Chris Von Sneidern, The Pernice Brothers and Fastball remain marginalised from the masses and must remain content with cult status.There are promising signs, though. The Fountains' eponymous 1996 debut managed to shift close to 2,000 copies in this country - helped in no small part by the unflinching support of Tower Records - and while Utopia Parkway doesn't quite match that album's seamless brilliance it still stands proudly alongside the best 1999 has had to offer so far.

FOW's core team of Adam Schlesinger and Chris Collingwood are both dazzlingly skilled pop craftsmen, capable of warping any genre into their gameplan, but while in lesser hands such magpie tendencies can prove irritating, with prolonged exposure the Fountains operate on the rarefied level where quotes and references actually reinforce their own identity.

Crotch-crunching power chords merge with easy-sounding harmonies on 'Denise' (begging to be played back-to-back with Blondie's 'Denis' and containing the deft-and-dumb line "She drives a lavender Lexus/She lives in Queens but her dad lives in Texas," the teen blowout of 'Laser Show' ("We're gonna sit back, relax, watch the stars/James and Jason, Kirk and Lars") and the gotta-get-the-girl, rites-of-passage comedy which is 'Red Dragon Tattoo' ("Will you stop pretending I've never been born/Now I look a little more like that guy from Korn").

Yet for all the cleverness and wit of their lyrics, where Fountains Of Wayne really click is with their mellifluous melodies.This is shown to full effect on the mid-paced title track, the wistful 'A Fine Day For A Parade', 'Prom Theme' and the utterly gorgeous 'Troubled Times'. Bands this good at what they do inevitably invite suspicion that they're cold and calculating, yet while Utopia Parkway doesn't boast a track as utterly exhilarating as the debut's 'Radiation Vibe', it's a walk down a warm and sunny path where The Beach Boys, The Raspberries, Blondie and The Rubinoos have stepped with style in the past.

Skinny ties. Skinny guys. Perfect Pop.