Masked Intruder

Masked Intruder

Written by: PP on 27/01/2013 20:01:33

One of the records that I overlooked in 2012 that has garnered a significant cult following since then is the self-titled album from Masked Intruder. So much so that Fat Wreck Chords has elected to re-issue the record in February to give it a greater reach that Red Scare simply cannot give them, because there's all sorts of Teenage Bottlerocket type of potential present on this album. One, the band members are simply known as 'blue', 'green', 'yellow', and 'red', according to the colours of the ski masks they wear when they perform (as you can see on the artwork), and two, because they play lighthearted no-frills pop punk that's catchier than the plague.

As you might expect from a band called Masked Intruder wearing ski masks, the songs are predictably tongue-in-cheek with funny droplets of humor pretty much ever-present in all songs. Given that it's a melancholic pop punk release, literally every single song is about girls, but instead of singing sappy love songs about breaking up and relationship trouble, they inject quite a bit of their own, quirky humor into the songs. My personal favorite is "Heart Shaped Guitar", which is rather cleverly set up love song sung from two perspectives: a male serenading to his love in one verse, and the female who thinks this person is fucking creepy in the next one, and then a combination of alternating lines for both in the final passage. Check it out:

Male: "Girl, ever since I first saw you, I knew that you were the one for me. I just want you to know how I feel, that's why I am standing here at 3am out in your front yard, singing you a love song on a heart-shaped guitar. And I hope you hear me, and I hope you care, and you put on a smile, and you come downstairs.

Female: "Dude. You're freaking me out. Seriously. What the fuck's wrong with you. I don't even know you. I'm calling the cops. Why are you standing there at 3am out in my front yard, singing stupid love songs on a heart-shaped guitar. And I don't wanna hear it because I don't even care."

Instrumentally, the band's flavor of no frills pop punk is from the tight guitars, groovy riffs school of thought (think Teenage Bottlerocket here). But where Bottlerocket are heavy at times, Masked Intruder play a really light form of pop punk that makes their songs impossibly catchy. Especially with the polished clean vocals, and the female contrast that's present in many tracks. Admittedly it's a little bit too silly to be rated any higher than this, but it's still a fun little release that should fit right in between your Dopamines and Hextalls records on the shelf.

Download: 25 To Life, Unrequited Love, Heart Shaped Guitar
For the fans of: The Dopamines, Teenage Bottlerocket,
Listen: Facebook

Release date 05.02.2013
Fat Wreck Chords

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