Friday, October 29, 2010

Playground - Bent, Lost or Broken (1994, Habit)

Though I have little to no background info on the Davis, CA based Playground, this album is nonetheless a more than noteworthy footnote in Cali punk-pop history.  Now that I think about it, there was mention of them in a blog entry from last year, namely the Misfit Heartbeat double 7" compilation they contributed to, circa the early/mid-90s.  Playground's formula was linear and lean roaring guitar rock, set to a reliable mid-tempo pace.  Aficionados of the Boston's Moving Targets will discover some more than striking similarities on Bent, Lost or Broken, but given Playground's locale of a modest town in northern California, something a little more obvious likely rubbed off on them, say like Husker Du or Sugar.  There's definitely some Mould-ian sensibilities running through these eleven tracks, but nothing too overt to signal any wholesale derivativeness.  Playground had at least two singles that I know of, which will likely be the subject of a forthcoming post.  Until then, enjoy (or not). 

01. Exhaust
02. Paradise Lost
03. Madrone
04. When Everything is Said and Done
05. Something Has to Give
06. Gravity
07. Just Once
08. Miles Away
09. Drift
10. Maim
11. A Game

Now on Bandcamp with a bunch of other releases.

7 comments:

Neal said...

gonna have to agree with healthy lifestyle tips.

always dug this cd and tried to find more music/info on this band over the years, but only have the misfit heartbeat comp. looking forward to more music from them. the last song on this album is my fave.

Ginger Snap! said...

I dj at KDVS in davis. I'm sure we have loads of their stuff, and I know a person to ask or two if you're curious about the band as well.

spavid said...

Thanks folks. I'd love to hear what you can find Ginger. I'll be uploading some P/G singles soon.

chad said...

i know there was a demo tape out there from these guys as well.

BAIN said...

PopKid Records in NJ released a 7" I believe right after hearing the Misfit Heartbeat 2x7"

http://www.myspace.com/popkidrecs

Unknown said...

it is down :(

spavid said...

Link has been updated.