So summer’s pretty much a washout, eh? It’s at this point where us Brits can cast an envy-filled glance stateside to those on Warped Tour, especially those who get to see bands like Masked Intruder every day. And given their new EP ‘Love and Other Crimes’, there’s every reason for wanting to see this band every day – this is utterly fantastic.

Musically, this band are really nothing revelatory, a sort of loved-up, sugar-sweet pop punk that draws as much from Weezer as it does from All Time Low. But the calibre of this material is just first class, a distillation of pure infectiousness that will make you want to come back time and time again. As simple as the likes of ‘Take What I Want’ and the truly excellent ‘Beyond a Shadow of a Doubt’ are, they completely thrive on the keenest of ears for earworm melodies, and the really works to their advantage,

And as prominent as Masked Intruder’s gimmick is – basically, each of the four members plays as a wanted criminal, only identifiable by their coloured ski masks – it never impedes too much on the actual music. They’re like Creeper in that sense, in the way that only the tiniest shards of their image actually seep through into the music, like on ‘Running from the Cops’. And as defamatory as it might seem to say that image is a key part of this band, it’s not the driving force in the way that other bands make it. The music is very much the fore, and the tightness of the synergy between the two is really what makes this EP soar.

And there we have ‘Love and Other Crimes’ – six tracks of utter joy delivered in a concise, massively likeable package that will hopefully bring a bit more shine to the summer. Just try and listen to this EP without a smile plastered across your face – we dare you.

4/5

‘Love and Other Crimes’ EP by Masked Intruder is out now on Pure Noise Records.

Masked Intruder links: Facebook|Twitter|Bandcamp

Words by Luke Nuttall (@nuttall_luke)