The group put out their first major label album in late 1996, on Scratchy Records, which is owned in part by Smashing Pumpkins' James Iha.. It was self-titled. The first single off of it, "Radiation Vibe," received a little eMpTyV airplay, mostly on 120 Minutes , back in the halcyon days when it was on every week, or on Alternative Nation (remember that show? Anyone? Bueller?). I remember the song quite well. I was resistant to it at first, but it's super, ultra-catchy chorus ("and now it's time to say/what I forgot to say/Baby, baby, baby, come on what's wrong/it's a radiation vibe I'm grooving on/Don't it make you want to get some sunshine, shine on, shine on") won me over. Buying the album and expecting nothing but fluff, I was pleasantly surprised. Most of the songs were very good, very XTC-esque in places. All the songs were in the vein of "Radiation Vibe." There was "Sink to the Bottom," which featured a toy piano in parts, then there was "Survival Car" and the hilarious "Leave the Biker," which became my friends and I favorite sing along. Not that you would care or anything. "Sink to the Bottom" was released as the second single, fizzled out and the group disappeared.

Fountains of Wayne were not heard from again until early 1999, when they released their second album, Utopia Parkway. Admittedly, my hopes weren't too high for this album. And again, Fountains of Wayne surprised me.

I'm sure many of you are familiar with the "sophomore slump" in which a group's second album is far inferior to their first. Third Eye Blind's Blue and Stone Temple Pilot's Purple spring to mind. Yet Fountains of Wayne managed to avoid this slump in a major way. If anything, Utopia Parkway takes two big cannons and blows their first album out of the water.

If I had one complaint about the first album, it would be that the songs all were just catchy and skippy, with this somewhat goofy feeling too them. The songs on Utopia Parkway are diverse. There are some catchy, goofy songs, like "Red Dragon Tattoo." Yet there are also contemplative songs, such as "Troubled Times," commentaries on pop culture like "Valley of the Malls," geek love anthems like the single "Denise," and really depressing songs, like the beautiful "Fine Day For a Parade." Sadly, this album received little fanfare, and "Denise" got very little airplay, even though a video was made. In my opinion, it was probably the best album to come out last year.