Sunny "Weather" for Fountains of Wayne

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Thanks to the novelty single "Stacy's Mom," Fountains of Wayne had it goin' on in 2003 and 2004.

That's still the case in 2007, with the New York-based quartet's fifth album, "Traffic and Weather," debuting at No. 97 on the current Billboard 200 chart.

The success of "Stacy's Mom," a cheeky paean to a youngster's erotic fantasies about a friend's mother, certainly hangs over "Traffic and Weather." The song, from the band's "Welcome Interstate Managers" album, peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also led to two Grammy nominations -- including an inexplicable best new artist nod.

The band's Virgin Records label is using the song to open TV commercials advertising "Traffic and Weather" as a way to hook fans' attention for the new music.

Virgin is also tying in "Traffic and Weather" promotions to the recent

Hugh Grant/

Drew Barrymore film "Music and Lyrics," for which Fountains co-founder Adam Schlesinger wrote and produced three songs.

The album's 14 songs maintain the polished, hook-heavy songcraft of its predecessors, with plenty of humor, pop culture references and a loose theme of travel and transportation -- reflected by such song titles as "'92 Subaru," "Michael and Heather at the Baggage Claim," "I-95" and "Seatbacks and Tray Tables."

The album also features guest appearances by two former members of the Smashing Pumpkins, guitarist

James Iha and bass player Melissa Auf Der Maur.

Schlesinger and co-founder Chris Collingwood began working on new songs in December 2005 and spent most of the first half of 2006 recording "Traffic and Weather."

"Rather than just blocking out a couple months to make a record, we do it in little spurts and work on a couple songs at a time," Schlesinger says. "That way it maybe doesn't seem so daunting."

The group begins a slate of shows this month, which will include performances at the Coachella and Bonnaroo festivals. In addition, the band will perform April 20 at the Apple retail store in New York's SoHo district, which will be filmed, recorded and distributed.

Reuters/Billboard