LUNCH, RECESS & DETE

Before heading out on the Summerland 2012 package tour -- a traveling showcase for '90s alt-rockers headlined by Everclear and also featuring Sugar Ray, Gin Blossoms, and Lit -- Marcy Playground assembled the rarities compilation Lunch, Recess & Detention. Offering B-sides, alternate takes, demos, covers, and even an extended "Disco Superfly Remix" of their signature hit "Sex and Candy" (along with an acoustic alternate take of the same song!), this, needless to say, is for the devoted but anybody who hasn't stuck with the band throughout the years may be surprised with what they find here. These odds and ends showcase a looser band than "Sex and Candy" suggests, one with a broader musical range and a sense of humor, albeit a sense of humor that is often undercut by a sincerity that is a shade too earnest, a trait that almost becomes a liability on their too-faithful covers of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" and Neil Young's "The Needle and the Damage Done." Nevertheless, the raggedness of Lunch, Recess & Detention is appealing and goes a long way toward illustrating why the faithful consider Marcy Playground as more than a one-hit wonder. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine