Album Review: Mindless Self Indulgence - How I Learned To Stop Giving A Shit And Love Mindless Self Indulgence

On first impression, the fifth full-length from New York synth-punk nutbars Mindless Self Indulgence seems to be all balls and no teeth. Both opener Witness and follow-up Fuck Machine have all the grunt and aggression that we've come to expect from MSI, but they lack edge and feel like the safe road in terms of accessibility, with none of the schizophrenic instrumentation and programming that's so long been their aural hallmark.

Thankfully, by the lyrically depressing-as-hell third cut, It Gets Worse, it's like they suddenly remember what they're supposed to be doing, and James “Little Jimmy Urine” Euringer's trademark vocal make a welcome, if belated, entry to proceedings alongside frantic stop-start arrangements and jagged, crunching guitar lines. Euringer has lost none of his talent for tongue-in-cheek, puerile, borderline insane wordsmithery, with particular glee to be taken from his lamentations on ageing (Hey Tomorrow Fuck You And Your Friend Yesterday), internet hacking collectives (Anonymous) and the declining quality of rap music (Kill You All In A Hip Hop Rage).

In order to make this LP, the band crowdsourced the funds through Kickstarter, which is fair enough – MSI was never a project that was going to make anyone a lot of money. But curiously, left to their own devices, the album offers two of the least challenging songs they've ever written followed by another 11 that, while enjoyable, really amount to much of the same thing they've always done. Still, any album that concludes with a cheery British woman signing off, “Well, that's all for now – goodnight, stupid children,” is at least worth a spin.