Review Summary: Mindless Self Indulgence presents fast beats, vulgar themes, and over the top antics in this multi-tracked release.
It seems that sometimes, certain bands throw away all their professionalism. They do away with maturity as musicians, and any attempt at creating emotionally moving pieces. Some bands do so because they are simply incapable of achieving the above points. But there are some exceptions, where bands are intentionally immature and unprofessional. With some bands, it seems completely appropriate that the music is incredibly offensive, pompous and over the top.
Mindless Self Indulgence, more specifically their 2000 release Frankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely Sexy, is a terrific example of this point; With profanity in just about every song; With songs that are incredibly redundant over time; With each tune having the same basic structure and theme; With musicianship that is arrogant and repetitive. All of these features would make Frankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely Sexy seem incredibly bad, and likely score a 1.5 or lower, but it seems that all of these features are the exact goals that are trying to be reached. The music is immature, unprofessional and vulgar, but that is exactly what it’s trying to be, that’s exactly what it wants to be, and that is the main reason that this album succeeds.
Frankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely Sexy sounds silly and odd enough as a title, and the music itself is no different. The themes in most of these songs relate to sex, violence, homophobia, and other vulgar references. Almost every song has cursing in it, and orgasm sounds are tastefully featured throughout the album. MSI challenge and push limits in every aspect. The album has a whopping 30 tracks, but the album’s length only lasts to 55 minutes. The tracks are all very short and concise, with the average track being about 1:45. The band has also put zero thought into ordering the tracks, as they are placed in alphabetical order. All of these features would come off as lame gimmicks and seem forced and cheesy, but with the music itself being overly- fast, offensive, shocking and sinisterly amusing, all these gimmicks seem delightfully genuine.
It leads to a charm that comes up. A middle fingered, “I don’t care what you think” attitude. The band is so blatant and blunt in how they go about their music, they love being offensive and vulgar. They create such fast and at times over-whelming songs, but do it in such arrogance, that it becomes humorous. They never even try to be mature or professional, and it makes the whole experience even more enjoyable.
Backmask opens the album with a concert clip of Johnny Urine saying “When I say ‘we,’ you say ‘suck’” This shows the uncaring humor of the band, that they are actually telling their fans to say they suck. After the clip, a speedy, frantic track bursts out. The band fuses industrial instrumentation with speedy electronica loops and rhythms to achieve a somewhat unique sound. A catchy chorus of “All the people you love, in a river of blood, And don’t forget to kill yourself” comes up in Backmask to give you a proper introduction of Mindless Self Indulgence.
Most of the songs on the rest of the album resemble the same qualities on Backmask; Aggression, speed and a blend of industrial with hyper-fast electronica. The album almost never stops, as soon as one track ends, another begins instantaneously. The tracks sound similar, but there certainly are some stand- out moments; Clarissa has a pseudo pop guitar riff in it that sounds excellent, Faggot has a synth focused, fast chorus of “Dig me now, *** me later” that would get anybody dancing. I Hate Jimmy Page has some lovely orgasmic screaming and some loosely sung “la la las,” but I’ll never understand the “I hate Jimmy Page, get that faggot off the stage” section in the chorus. London Bridge is probably my favorite track off the album, with an incredibly catchy electronica beat at the beginning mixed in with some fun quirks that makes it incredibly fun to listen to. Most of the tracks succeed thanks to their dynamic vocalist. Johnny Urine has a very commanding voice, switching from rapping a verse in wicked speed, to an a-capella sung section, to pure yelling. His voice is controlled, empowering and is usually the most interesting aspect to the songs.
But it becomes incredibly apparent that the band is a one-trick pony. The songs are incredibly similar, and although it adds to the charm that the album cascades, by track 15, Frankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely Sexy becomes a complete chore to hear. If I were to listen to a few select tracks in a shuffle with other songs, It would be fun, spread out and great to hear. But as a cohesive album, the album is incredibly generic and repetitive, and can’t be enjoyed in heavy doses.
Mindless Self Indulgence know exactly what they’re doing. They have incredible confidence and power in their music. I don’t think I’ve ever heard an album as bold as Frankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely Sexy. Although the band is obviously limited in their musical ability, and will never be credited with any legitimacy, that’s not what’s important. What is important is that the album is fun, catchy and vulgar, the band knows how to push buttons, and do with a smile on their face.
Recommended Tracks
Backmask
Clarissa
Faggot
London Bridge*
