by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Marcy Playground's eponymous debut is a well-intentioned but somewhat muddled collection of straightforward post-grunge alt-pop. Songs like "Sex and Candy" capture the band at their best, turning out hard-edged, melodic pop songs with strong hooks and backbeats. Unfortunately, they don't quite have their craft perfected -- only a handful of the songs on the album are as memorable as the single. Still, those moments are what make Marcy Playground a promising, albeit imperfect, debut.