Album Review: Mindless Self Indulgence IF

A bit of fair warning; I like MSI (Mindless Self Indulgence), and I like this album. This is a thumbs up review of one of the best albums of the year. Prepare for gushing praise for this hard hitting, ultra high-energy rock phenomena that seems to be sweeping through the United States and the UK like a class of Satan High school kids on a field trip. Little Jimmy Urine (the mastermind behind it all), who at 39 is closer to my age than most of his fans, uses a good helping of 80's and 90's themes, wrapping them up with catchy song structures and infectious choruses that are as sweet and sinful as deep fried Snickers Bars. The overall affect is a 3-D, bombastic, electronic, heavy metal experience that will make it hard for you to listen to anything else but MSI for a week or two.

IF in many ways is not such a distant departure from the last full-length You'll Rebel To Anything, but considering that most MSI fans never wanted that album to end, IF is a fitting and gratifying follow up. This is simply MSI doing what they do best; riffing, rapping, bitching, and slamming pink gothy cream pies in your face.

IF is both more stripped down yet more produced than previous releases. But I, for one, enjoy the simplicity and straightforward approach to the songwriting on IF. It seems heavier than the previous releases which is always fine with me. And this seems to be the first real attempt by MSI to create full length songs. This lends to some repetitiveness, but the electronic noise, Jimmy's pinball machine vocals, and shout-out sing-along choruses compliment the rock sound. The production quality of this album is over the top but has such a full spectrum of sound that your ears can't possibly become bored. And not to take anything away from their second full-length The Frankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely Sexy, but the overall sound of IF is absolutely monstrous in comparison.

Lyrics range from high school drama to issues of money, and the affects that his drug use and general lifestyle will eventually have on Little Jimmy Urine. Oh yeah, there is also a song covering impotency. So soon, Jimmy? Maybe it's for the best. Just keep making music. All in all, don't take the lyrics too seriously. That's the point of all of this.

Fav Tracks: The opening tune, Never Wanted to Dance, takes this award primarily because it is super heavy, has some great tempo changes and great lyrics. It's hilarious that in the first song Little Jimmy Urine is already disarming his detractor(s) by saying "There is nothing you can do that I have not already done to myself."

Due is also another great one, primarily because of the (super excellent) opening vocal melody that grinds up against some cool synthed-out guitar riffing. It also has some great tempo changes.

Least Fav Track: Michael David Chapman. It's an interesting song, but one helped written by Jimmy's correspondences with the fans through the band's MySpace page. I think this is just a commentary about the incredible irony of life, that such a musical genius such as John Lennon was killed by such a simpleton as Mark Chapman while the emo-zombies of today continue to live on to make crappy music. Who's up for killing them?

I've felt the reverberations coming off some hard-core MSI fans who have the idea that MSI has sold out on this album. I think this was probably somewhere in their plan to begin with, plus MSI is attacking the mainstream similarly to what Marylin Manson did when he broke into the mainstream from the inside out. It's all about altering the perception of normal people, shocking them and forcing them to enjoy something they never thought they could. To me that has more musical value than what's offered up by bands who purposefully stay underground for the sake of "integrity". After all, if you simply pander to only those who already adore you, what new ground can you possibly break?

Only time will tell if IF will give them room to create something even more bizarre or if IF is painting themselves into a corner. Overall, this is a great, fun album that I would highly recommend.

Other Releases:

Termed punk/electronica/metal/trip-hop (take your pick...I say all of the above) this New York City based band debut in 1999 with album Tight. The group followed with 2000's The Frankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely Sexy and 2002's Alienating Our Audience: Live.You'll Rebel to Anything from 2005 found the band signed to the industrial label Metropolis. Their latest album, IF is what this review is all about.