Johnny Marr - Playland

Johnny Marr
Playland
6 October 2014
New Voodoo

3 stars out of 5

In 2002, NME named The Smiths as the “most influential artist ever,” ahead of The Beatles. The guitarist and principal songwriter of The Smiths was, of course, Johnny Marr. Since the break-up of that band in 1987, Marr has been a member of The The, Electronic, Modest Mouse, and The Cribs, before releasing his solo LP, The Messenger, in 2013. Perhaps what was most surprising about the record was that Marr not only could sing, but had such an accomplished and nuanced voice. Twenty months later he's released his second, Playland, and while it's not as strong as The Messenger, it's still a solid collection of pop songs with an '80s feel.

Marr has done so much in the twenty-seven years since The Smiths closed up shop that there's little motivation to attempt comparison between Playland and, say, Strangeways Here We Come. “25 Hours” begins with a riff that could find itself at home on some theoretical fifth or sixth Smiths LP, while “The Trap” and “This Tension” are so representative of Marr's 1987 groove that they could easily find themselves on the b-side of a contemporary single. But the meat of “25 Hours” is an urgent rock song, and “Easy Money” has more in common with the dance-rock of The Psychedelic Furs that it does with any of Marr's previous work. The title track feels like PiL crossed with Wire crossed with The Cramps: out-of-control drum rolls and a grove that's part post-punk, part rockabilly.

The Smiths were so revolutionary when they first appeared that a whole new genre—indie rock—had to be created in order to categorize them. Marr had no peers when it came to his guitar playing, though he and his band spawned thousands of imitators. More than thirty years later, Marr is still not easily classifiable, following no one, though not likely to have many followers now either. While Playland is a catchy and competent record, it probably won't find its way into your all-time favourites lists, even if you were as devoted to The Smiths as I was back in the day. The fact that Marr has finally launched a solo career in the last couple of years is definitely welcome news, but his new music isn't anywhere near as life-changing as The Smiths and The Queen Is Dead were to so many of us '80s kids.

reviewed by Richard Krueger