Reel Around the Fountain

PROOF positive that the billion pound music industry has yet to take ace as a prime mover among late capitalist concerns is its inability to square up its record sales among the different "territories" throughout the world - as opposed to the ubiquity of Nintendos or whatever disposable piece of junk culture you care to mention. Over in the USA of America (as Mrs Merton terms it) the situation is worsened by the fact that they're quite happy to fling Tina Turner, Meat Loaf and Bryan Adams (I know he's Canadian) at us while sitting on acts like the two below, both of whom are only being released on this side of the water, many months after they "happened" over there.

The American press for the Fountains Of Wayne's eponymously titled album cites the songwriting teams of Goffin/ King, Leiber/Stoller, Lennon/McCartney and Difford/Tilbrook in an effort to describe their beautifully constructed, melody laden 12 song collection. The group, formed around the songwriting duo of Adam Schlesinger and Chris Collingwood, started off causing a bit of a buzz in "all" circles, thanks to support slots on tour with both The Smashing Pumpkins and The Lemonheads, and was helped along (reluctantly) by dint of writing the title track for Tom Hanks's movie, That Thing You Do, a song that bass player Adam Schlesinger wrote in classic early 1960s Merseybeat style.

Guitarist Chris Collingwood explains that the band's success in the US is down to its atypical approach - this is a band that can combine Nirvana style guitars with classic 1960s melodies. "Bands like Prefab Sprout and, Aztec Camera were big influences on me, he says, "and I think our approach is refreshing because it is a writing thing and not a production thing. Most bands that make records with heavy guitars cite Sonic Youth as an influence, but I have no knowledge of that stuff - and although I'm a big~ Beatles and `British invasion' fan, our lyrics don't have anything to do with the kind you'd find back then. If anything, we're taking our own stupid lyrics and grafting them on to 1960s pop conventions."

Collingwood's zero tolerance for anything that doesn't go "pop" makes for a highly accessible sound. "I hake no interest in any other kind of music," he says. "I know that's a really anti intellectual thing to say, but I can't stand jazz music. I can't stand anything that isn't melodic, instantly hummable and memorable." Just like his hand's album.

Like the Fountains Of Wayne, the pop folk act, Jewel (a 23 year old from Alaska) has enjoyed considerable acclaim back in the US but is only now developing a profile over here. Jewel's Pieces Of You album has already sold over three million copies and has won her some big name fans in the shape of Bob Dylan, Neil Young, The Ramones (oddly enough) and Bill Clinton, who invited her to sing at his inauguration.

The most distinguishing factor about Jewel's work is that she's not just a hippy chick with a guitar, and despite the stark acoustic nature of her work she owes more to the fresh dynamics of the Indigo Girls than the all too obvious Joni Mitchell comparisons. Pieces Of You, which was produced by the same person (Ben Keith) who produced Patsy Kline, features the (soon to be) radio hit Who Will Save Your Soul alongside many other delights. Tuneful, rootsy and with the odd bit of brawn thrown in, Jewel is quite a revelation and the best thing to happen to Alaska since Michelle Shocked wrote a song about it.