Chasing past glories is an exhausting pursuit, so we’ll forgive
remaining original members Ian McCulloch and Will Sergeant for failing
to surpass their ’80s high point since reuniting in 1997. Subsequent
albums have brushed against their old gloomy, bristling post-punk, but
their latest shelves the darker edges in favor of full-on pop embrace.
The album’s slick sheen arrives courtesy English boy-band producer John
McLaughlin (5ive, Busted), but it’s not the disability it might be with
lesser artists. McCulloch’s assured tenor and Will Sergeant’s wonderful
ringing guitar are well represented by the crisp, inviting radio-ready
tone.
At ten songs and 37 minutes, the economy of The Fountain makes it an enjoyable listen, though it’s perhaps too Teflon. For all
its sweeping catchiness, not a lot sticks. The exception is the
energetic single, “Think I Need It Too,” in which McCulloch’s muscular
croon channels Neil Diamond amidst Sergeant’s topiary of shapely
psych-pop guitar chime. “Forgotten Fields” is dramatic enough for U2,
and the minor-key synth undercurrent of “Do You Know Who I Am” recalls
“Bring on the Dancing Horses.” The clever, loping, string-addled and
harmony-enriched closing ballad, “The Idolness of Gods,” is the album’s
other high note. — Chris Parker
This article appears in Nov 11-17, 2009.
