Wonder Boys

There’s more to NYC slacker-popsters than “sex” and “candy”

Comments (0) By D. Patrick Rodgers Thursday, Aug 27 2009

It’s a shame Marcy Playground will forever be associated with the words “sex” and “candy.”

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As far as one-hit wonders go, the strangely libidinous/gluttonous lead-off single from their self-titled 1997 debut really wasn’t so bad; it was mellow yet vaguely compelling, and the rest of the album was surprisingly strong in a well-read-slacker type of way. Tracks such as “Poppies” packed a ballsier, more technically proficient punch and betrayed a fascination with drugs and history, while “Sherry Fraser” proved doubly that singer John Wozniak could write a damn catchy melody. We, like the rest of the world, more or less ignored all of the following releases from the NYC three-piece, but we popular-music fans of the Aughts aren’t so jaded that we can’t appreciate a sincerely impressive debut record a decade after the fact, are we?

Touring in support of their new release, Leaving Wonderland, Marcy Playground performs at Club Red.

Fri., Aug. 28, 7 p.m., 2009