CD of The Week

Johnny Marr is back! On the heels of last year’s The Messenger album release, Marr has followed-up quickly with a release this year of the new album Playland.

If you enjoyed The Messenger you’ll likely find Playland to be right up your alley. Marr picks up where he left off by issuing an album of tight, melodic pop-rock. Tracks like the lead single “Easy Money” as well as “Dynamo” and “This Tension” could easily have been extra tracks on The Messenger. That's not to say that Johnny Marr isn’t trying new things on this album: there are tracks where it shows that he is experimenting somewhat in the studio. A prime example of this is the tune “Speak Out Reach Out” where Marr and company rock out a little harder than some of his previous recordings have leaned. There are, in fact, quite a few harder-rocking tunes on the new record, with tunes like opener “Back in The Box” really hitting the listener from the first tracked guitar effect, and “25 Hours” steadily jamming out at a fast-paced run with a quirky non-chord ‘strings at the headstock’ riff at the end. These songs capture the energy of his last tour in support of The Messenger.

It wouldn’t be Johnny Marr, however, without some nods to his days with The Smiths. You can hear it mostly in the guitar riffs on songs like “The Trap” and “Candidate”. The jangly-pop chord-based progressions are pure Marr guitar style.

Overall, Playland is a logical and welcome progression of Johnny Marr’s solo efforts; he’s come a long way since 2003’s Boomslang and Playland is a record that listeners will likely find fun and energetic. Catch Johnny Marr's return to Philadelphia on November 11th at Union Transfer.