Mp3
A half-decade after their pair of late 90's major label albums suffered an all too familiar fate (promising debut; sophomore jinx) singer/songwriter Steve Wozniak and Marcy Playground have mounted a game, indie comeback attempt here. But it's also an ironic one that largely fulfills the band's original post-grunge pop promise, albeit a bit after that parade has past. During an era when many a modern rock band have made sharp U-turns into the 80's (or in some cases, the 70's) for their inspirational jangle 'n' crunch, Wozniak and company (original MP bassist Dylan Keefe, new drummer Gonzalo Martinez) have stubbornly refined and focused their original sound on standouts like theNirvana-channeling "Blood in Alphabet Soup" and "Sleepy Eyes," "Hotter Than the Sun's" cautionary, autobiographical musings and the thrash-pop irony of "Punk Rock Superstar." Woz's droll, expressive vocals reflect a lost innocence that's bittersweet and all too familiar, wed to a musical sense that's stubbornly true to itself, third wave ofde rigeurgarage rock wannabes be damned.-- Jerry McCulley