Wonderful

Marcy Playground is a severely underrated band. One of the best bands of this generation, it was dealt a kiss of death in the form of the all-too-popular “Sex & Candy,” a decent piece no doubt, but merely one sixteenth note of the great song of Marcy Playground.

“Leaving Wonderland ... In a Fit of Rage,” the band’s latest, was originally slated to be front man John Wozniak’s solo work, until he announced last summer the record would be released under the Marcy name, its fourth album, and first since 2004’s “MP3.”

Like so many other bands, Marcy Playground seems to be doing everything it can to avoid having another commercial hit. The result? A quality CD without the cliched pop hooks permeating radio with nearly every song. That’s not to say the music here isn’t good enough to be on the radio; in fact, it’s too good to be on the radio, a place reserved for big label acts fueled by payola. The band has been able to successfully exist without the presence of a big label, and this release serves as further proof of that.

“Good Times” shows off Wozniak’s songwriting talent. While starting off as a soft, acoustic number, Wozniak’s melodic voice lifts the track to great heights.  Like many of their other songs, this one seems to hearken back to childhood and stands right up there with some of their best works.

The dark ballad “Down The Drain” vibes off the band’s “Shapeshifter” era, sounding like a cross between “Never” and “Our Generation.” Starting with Wozniak playing a gloomy progression on his acoustic, his vocals drift so low they are nearly sleep-inducing. The pace soon picks up, and the end result is incandescence. This one, like the aforementioned track, could fit right into the band’s best works.

In all, the album consists of 10 new tracks and two reworkings of older ones –  “I Burned The Bed” and “Memphis” – which previously existed as a pre-Marcy Playground release and a B-side, respectively.

“Leaving Wonderland ... ” shows the band still has the knack for writing quality songs ranging from quirky, lighthearted pieces to darker, more melancholy work.
Like “MP3,” this one isn’t quite as good as their first two albums, but it’s close, and anything close is still wonderful.