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Masked Intruder

M.I.

Written by: PP on 27/06/2014 19:07:28

The hilarious gimmick pop punkers Masked Intruder are back with a sophomore full-length "M.I." that's miles better songwriting wise compared to their self-titled debut album from 2012. They've always been hilarious live with props like coloured skimasks to imply they are burglars and to hide their real identities, police officers moshing next to them on stage, and Godfather-style accents when talking to the crowd, but they've never truly impressed on their recorded material. Until now. We're still deep in the realms of very poppy pop punk in terms of vocal melodies, where straight up, no-frills punk guitars buy them an ounce of credibility, but the consistency of songs has taken a massive leap forward.

The record opens with "I Fought The Law", a hilarious reference in lyrical content to The Clash classic, but not a cover rather than a Masked Intruder original about how the law beat the shit out of them at some point. The lyrics throughout the record are silly about thieving, doing crime sprees, and of course, ironic love songs with lyrics like "When you look my way I feel like I've been hit by a care bear stare for real" (on "The Most beautiful Girl"), just like on the debut album. But where many of the tracks back then didn't leave much of an impression, these are in comparison upbeat, fun, no-nonsense songs with instantly catchy melodies that stick to your mind easily and for weeks to come.

The vocals will certainly be a turn off for some due to their ultra poppy, high pitch nature, but that has been a Masked Intruder trademark style since their inception, so nothing new under the sun here. It's the delivery that counts, though, as "Hey Girl" shows with its high-octane, ridiculously catchy "Hey! Girl! What'cha doing, what'cha doing baby" choruses delivered in rapid fire manner during the minute and thirteen seconds that the song lasts. The no-frills factor raises its head here, and because the chord-based guitars are played as tightly and as fast as they are, the song just works, even though musical depth is an alien planet in this context.

But that's how you have to approach a Masked Intruder album. Throw away your brains and sing along to some infectious melodies, dance with the police officer live or give him the finger. Basically get ready to party, because that's what Masked Intruder are all about.

Download: I Fought The Law, Crime Spree, Hey Girl
For the fans of: The Dopamines, Teenage Bottlerocket, The Copyrights, Direct Hit!
Listen: Facebook

Release date 27.05.2014
Fat Wreck Chords