Crossword Smile

Parallel Lines

Big Stir Records

You wouldn't think this combination -- Steely Dan, Fountains Of Wayne, and early REM -- would work together, but it does. In fact it’s great, and a nice balance of the three, on a song about love gone wrong -– or did it? Friendly, but wry like the Dan lyrically, FoW-type empathy, jangly guitars via REM that is faintly Dan-like jazzy, too, or the softer side of FoW.

So if you're a fan of any of these bands, or all three, I’d pick up this single from a new band that’s going places.

Andrea Weiss