I don't think I'm the only one who finds this band hard to take seriously solely because of "Stacey's Mom" but it's been a few years. "Sky Full of Holes" shows that FoW has far more merit as a serious rock band than you'd guess from their only breakthrough hit.
"Richie and Ruben" is one of the album's more clever moments. It tells the story of a failing restaurant and although it's fraught with some questionable rhymes (Ruben and doin' for example) it comes across as a key track and a story-telling success.
There are even some genuinely tender moments like, "I hate to see you like this". The song, like much of the album, is heavily colored by piano and acoustic guitars. The band eschews the methods of its bratty, pop-punk, past for an approach that sometimes sounds more like adult contemporary or alternative country. And I don't mean this as a dig.
For me FoW vocals will always be sort of hard to tolerate but there are definitely some enjoyable power-pop ditties on this record. Worth a listen for anyone who enjoys artists like They Might Be Giants or Jonathan Coulton or even Cracker. There's a thread of silliness running throughout it but the band has become easier for me to take seriously after "Sky. . ."
Grade: B-
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