The story goes that John Wozniak got busy in a college dorm room w/ his girlfriend at the time, after which, the roommate walked in and proclaimed, “it smells like sex and candy in here!” A hit song was born out of the incident, and “Sex And Candy,” off of Marcy Playground’s 1997 self-titled debut, is perhaps the NYC alt rock band’s one-and-only claim to fame. One-hit wonders without a doubt, but you’d be remiss NOT to check out the entire album. Start with follow-up singles “Saint Joe on the School Bus” and “Sherry Fraser,” then move on to “Ancient Walls Of Flowers” and “Poppies.” It’s quirky (what is “disco lemonade”???) and dark pop w/ hints of folk influences thrown in, a fine slice of ’90s alt rock that’s sure to bring back memories, the good ones and the bad.

• remastered
• music label: Slow Down Sound 1997 /2018

reviewed by rei kwondo 06/18