Noel Gallagher Vs. Brian Molko?
Another album of melodic indie rock; a big yawn at that prospect but ignore this overall generic tag as Marcy Playground have cobbled together 14 tracks which add a little twist to the formula. It definitely retains something which should appeal to the fashionista NME crowd; the Franz Ferdinand style of opener 'Spoonfed' should be enough to whet their appetite.
However where they have that little something different is the almost schizophrenic style changes from track to track. Never feeling too polished it has a hint of gritty commercialism which is matched by 'spot the influences' element of the songs. The band seem to flit from a bit of a Jimi Hendrix 'Hey Joe' moment in 'No One's Boy' to Beach Boys style pop in 'Rock and Roll Heroes'.
Vocalist Woz has the benefit of sounding like a cross between Noel Gallagher and Brian Molko which gives a bit more a beefy sound to songs that could easily have turned into the whiny kind of turgid mess that most acts of this sort usually release. He can sound a little droning at times but when the slower more elegiac tracks come on you can't help but love his voice, check out 'Death of a Cheerleader' if you're not convinced.
There isn't exact much deep philosophising going on in the lyrics ("All the towns and fans we've rocked") but there is something beautifully simple about them which raises them out of the league of the naff. The easy listening factor does mean that you can quickly learn the lyrics giving this album the perfect 'driving music' quality. The simple riffs and drums with the odd string section thrown in also means you're never bogged down in any overtly complicated sounds so it's easy to sit back and just listen to the music as it passes you by.
Despite these praises the multi-personality aspect of this album does mean that you are never quite sure who the real Marcy Playground is. Future releases will probably benefit from finding a hook which they can rest their style on to make something that is definitely them. At this stage it does feel like they're not really comfortable in their own skin as a band and a greater sense of unity between the tracks would just heighten the quality of their outstanding musical talent. The Celtic influence of 'Jesse Went to War' is a particular album highlight and is a beautifully haunting three and a half minutes.
Definitely an album that is incredibly superficial for most of the time but that and the odd nugget of deeper more elegiac moments only add to the charm of this album. Definitely worth adding to your collection if only for the variety of styles that it offers.