So the Great White Hope of pop-punk is four masked guys from Madison, Wisconsin, who sing doo-wop-addled songs about stalking like some like twisted amalgamation of Chixdiggit and The Mummies?
Yup, or as the boys say, "Stick 'em motherfuckers, I got a knife".
It's amazing that a band with this much raw potential would risk it all, by playing up the masked stalker angle so heavily ("Every single day is lonelier than the last/I cried so much I had to wring out my mask" they sing in "Unrequited Love"). So, while the shtick does limit the resonance of the oft-clever lyrics, the band's killer sense of melody and controlled arrangements prevail - just listen to "Heart-Shaped Guitar" for proof.
Udate don;t miss this hilarious-but-wildly-inconclusive investigation into the real identities of Masked Intruder here. (Thanks, Biopunk)
Bandcamp!
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a little too sunshiney for my tastes- but i like the masked stalker concept a lot.
ReplyDeleteYeah there's plenty of sugar in here, which isn;t to everyone's tastes. Glad you liked the masked shtick tho'.
Deleteif this band existed in a vacuum, yeah sure whatever it's fine. but given that there is another punk outfit out there wearing colorful masks and involved in some really serious shit-- shit that matters in a big way-- sorry, but i can't help but feel this comes off as a little... disrespectful, or a mockery. i found it a little odd to see this here even, given MRML's support of Pussy Riot. "25 to Life?" c'mon... those words carry real and serious weight for these young women. maybe it's just the timing, but in the context of Pussy Riot... can you continue on like that, feigning obliviousness? is there any real punk in that pop, that's supposed to give a shit about these kinds of things?
ReplyDeleteGet bent theodore.
DeleteIf you stand for Pussy Riot's right, I consider you an ally.
DeleteThat doesn't mean that I agree with your, well-phrased critique.
The band predates Western awareness of PR and they have gained good word-of-mouth just as Putin's travesty of justice has hit its zenith.
Just because something terrible is happening somewhere in the world, doesn't mean we have to surrender our right to laugh.
i guess i gotta get out more....i'm living in madison and i've never heard of them!
ReplyDeleteHey if you go see 'em - tell us how the show is!
DeleteI think my favourite thing about this album (besides how damn catchy it is) is that they're not just playing the gimmick for shock, they're using it to critique the inherent creepiness of all those pop-punk songs about heartbreak and unrequited love that never acknowledge the object-of-affection in the song as anything more than an object. I wrote a review of it here which goes into more detail http://somedaysthethundergetsyou.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/masked-intruder-st.html
ReplyDeleteWell-made point, especially using "Heart-Shaped Guitar" as proof - that song could be the logical conclusion of a thousand pop-punk love songs.
DeleteYes. JBriggs is winning the internets this week!
DeleteCheck out A Serious Investigative Investigation: ‘Who Are MASKED INTRUDER?: An Investigation’ for an admirable attempt at solving the mystery.
ReplyDelete(I'm sure one of the Bottlerocket boys will be indicted...)