Much has happened since the last Fountains of Wayne album in 2007: Babies were born, hair was lost, and youthful irresponsibility has been curbed. Songwriters Chris Collingwood and Adam Schlesinger address midlife crises the only way they know how on their fifth album: with super-catchy pop songs that don't sound all that miserable on the surface. But dig deeper and you'll hear characters coming to terms with their fears ("The Summer Place"), their failures ("Action Figure"), and their mortality ("Cemetery Guns"). It's a long way from "Stacy's Mom," the MILF classic that almost made the band stars in 2003. Fountains of Wayne is older and more meditative on Sky Full of Holes. "At 15, shoplifting was the only game she liked to play/ At 40, she's so bored," Collingwood sings. Welcome to adulthood, guys. —Michael Gallucci
