What happens to a one-hit wonder band after their three and a half minutes (the average length of the average pop song) are up? In some cases, when their time is up, it's only as simple as that; after grabbing the world's attention for just enough time to play through their song and drawing rabid fanfare for it, the members of the band in question go back to their day jobs. They might make a half-hearted attempt or two to replicate or follow the success of that one song, but it's never again as exciting or special or addictive as that first time; check out “Whoomp! There It Went,” the single that Tag Team wrote to follow “Whoomp! There It Is,” for the funniest of such attempts in the pop pantheon.
Other bands, like Harvey Danger, carry on seemingly unaffected by their momentary success but very rarely find a niche that works – although (again, like Harvey Danger who has found some success since signing with KillRockStars) it isn't unheard of.
Then there are the bands like Marcy Playground. For the unfamiliar, Marcy Playground owned modern rock airwaves for roughly the run-time of their first single, “Sex And Candy,” before falling off the airwaves, off the charts and out of sight. A couple of albums followed the band's platinum-selling debut (who knew?) which earned tepid response at best, but nothing really captured the sort of attention that first single did. The funny thing in listening to Leaving Wonderland… is that it becomes very apparent just how very much 'of a time' “Sex And Candy” was; this new album could have easily followed that success twelve years ago and may have received some attention from listeners still trying to straddle the taste-maker/pop-lover line but, at this point, the odds of it making any impression at all now are pretty far removed.
The problem with Leaving Wonderland… In A Fit Of Rage is that the fifteen songs on it don't play up or down to anything, they just play. From the opening tentative strums of “Blackbird,” singer John Wozniak deadpans his way along like a sarcastic romantic that wants to be loved but can't bring himself to commit to anything or risk rejection. He just sits fairly prone for the duration as bassist Dylan Keefe and drummer Shlomi Lavie try to figure out how to work around him but go nowhere as a result. It's a little sad and a little disheartening to hear songs including “Devil Woman,” “Gin And Money,” “I Burned The Bed” and “I Must Have Been Dreaming” show sparks of promise and Wozniak off-handedly throw out lines like, “It's a cold night/ I've got cocaine, gin and money” like a poor man's post-modern Paul Simon but stubbornly refuse to put in any effort to make the songs sparkle. He doesn't even bother to attach a decent lyric to the strong guitar figure of “Down The Drain” (the opening lyric, “I'm staring down the drain of the sink,” couldn't be worse if it was, “I'm staring at the stain on the wall – of my living room”). It's a frustrating thing, yet you find yourself continuing to listen for anything at all that would justify the forty-minute time expenditure required to reach the end of the “Special” bonus track. It never comes though, and all listeners are left to feel in the end is a little used at best and sympathy for the band at worst.
So why'd they do it? Forget why Capitol Records agreed to release Leaving Wonderland…, why did Marcy Playground even bother if they were going to laze through and not try to provoke any sensation at all from listeners? We may never know but Leaving Wonderland… is Marcy Playground's fourth album and that might – just might – finish out their contract. If that's the case, they'll be free; they won't have to waste anyone's time – not their own, not the label's, not that of anyone listening – anymore.
Artist:
Marcy Playground Online
Marcy Playground Myspace
Download:
“Good Times” from Leaving Wonderland… In A Fit Of Rage by Marcy Playground
“Special” from Leaving Wonderland… In A Fit Of Rage by Marcy Playground
Album:
Leaving Wonderland… In A Fit Of Rage is out now and available here on Amazon .
