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Author's product rating:   

Originality	Average
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	Mixed
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Average
Value for Money	Satisfactory

Advantages:	catchy pop
Disadvantages:	shallow, twee, can be annoying

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

A bit like the Red Hot Chilis pinned down a stadium sound that would make them lots of money, the Fountains have refined their pop sound to the point of perfection. Trouble is, it’s now too perfect and lacks that nice indie feel that made the Fountains so popular to begin with.
This album is like some Hollywood romantic comedy or dumb action movie: you can predict all the boxes the movie is going to tick from the off and while it’s easy to watch, you forget it immediately the credits end. This is a bit like that, though being music, some of the hooks might get stuck in your head’s internal jukebox.
So the tunes are all catchy and easy to listen to, and even quite enjoyable, just a little too slick. If you want melody, nice harmonies, fast beats and pleasant guitar, it might well sound good in the car.
Lyrically, the songs are mostly stories, told with varying degrees of naffness: they’re obviously a clever band so maybe it’s a kind of joke to make some lyric so cheesy. Opening track “Somebody to love” is ok; it’s all about two yuppies in love with empty lives, and other songs are also lyrically ok; then there’s “Planet of weed,” which rhymes as many words as possible with “weed”.
It’s highly catchy melodic pop — and parts are impossible to dislike — but just a bit plastic and predictable.