Mindless Self Indulgence

Mindless Self Indulgence have made their Masterpiece with IF. All of the classic MSI elements have been turned up to 666, and there's no turning back. IF is chock full of infectious electro, trip-punk that has no business being this catchy, but it is. Spastic riffs crescendo into cracked out keyboards, as Jimmy Urine's ADD ramblings shift from psychotic to shocking and then back again. This is music for a dance party in Hell, but MSI wouldn't have it any other way. MSI have gone against the grain since they hit the scene hard with Tight, and they haven't stopped kicking out the jams since. Lauded by everyone from KoRn to System of a Down, Mindless Self Indulgence is a rare musical enigma. They've always been just under the radar of massive pop success, but that could change on IF—"If" the mainstream is ready. Given the current resurgence of electronic music in the pop realm, this could be Mindless Self Indulgence's day to take over, and no one deserves it more.

Songs have never been a problem for Mindless. In fact, few people can write a hook like Jimmy Urine. The album kicks off with the ass shakin' crunch of "Never Wanted to Dance," and from there, the hits don't stop coming. "Get It Up" hilariously dissects impotency with the vocal schizophrenia that's an integral part of MSI's brilliance. "Lights Out" launches a funky bass line into a full-on cyber punk assault as Urine keeps swinging his fists and more. "Prescription" is an ode to chemicals complete with a soaring keyboard line and '80s-style sing-a-long. "Mastermind" breaks it down slowly, and then turns up the heat from whispers to screams. IF finds MSI focusing their signature musical ADD into the most cohesive songs that they've written. Also, Urine tackles deeper lyrical content more than just panty raids and hating on Jimmy Page. That darker subject matter includes Columbine and Mark David Chapman. He does it with complete aplomb, in a whacky manner that only he could. Check out the vocoder on "Mark David Chapman," T-Pain watch out.

Jimmy makes a "full-frontal" assault on emo, punk, hip hop, dance music and everyone else in his path with this record, and he succeeds. Now, "IF" the world would just wake up, MSI would be headlining Coachella next year.

—Rick Florino
04.28.08

With their 2005 effort You'll Rebel to Anything, the synth-punk explosion known as Mindless Self Indulgence reached maturity. Maybe that's not a word you'd usually apply to these spastic pranksters but when a band goes from simple short punk songs to intricate studio constructions, it's fitting enough. You'll Rebel was just so freaking good it was reissued in an expanded edition just three years later, the same year the brand spanking new -- emphasis on "spanking" -- If arrived following the same blueprint as its predecessor and coming up short in comparison. When leader and lead singer Jimmy Urine screams "There's nothing you can do that I haven't already done to myself" on the opening "Never Wanted to Dance" he's as believable as ever, and the ridiculously busy, crunchy, and loud backing track is the kind of riveting, kick-ass fist pumper the band has come to master. The brilliant "Lights Out" wedges a stately reading of the band's unofficial motto -- "Punch your lights out/Hit the pavement/That's what I call entertainment" -- into an otherwise furious hardcore song, and when "Issues" drops "I want a lot of profanity/With a lot less virginity" it's the kind of thing cretin dreams are made of, but the problem with If isn't the highlights. Three years of watching their extremely loyal fan base grow while brokering exclusive deals with the corporate goth retailer Hot Topic has made Urine and his cohorts a little too comfortable. The fact that "Mark David Chapman" was written with the fans' guidance -- an innovative and not so great idea made possible by the Internet -- ends up a big fat metaphor for how exclusive the album feels, giving the loyal fans what they want and forgetting about any broader communication. Email the band the name of the jock who pushed you over and they'll damn him in a song, or at least that's the way it feels during the rather routine filler. MSI aren't the first band to coast a little and preach to the choir after a knock-out album -- and they certainly won't be the last -- but the best parts of If cast light on how freakishly wonderful the band can be when trying to shock us all and not just those on their mailing list. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide