Time to get heavy and coat some sweet melodies in relentlessly crunchy chords and searing lead guitar licks. And it comes with a full serving of hooks.

Can I just say it? Wisconsin’s Masked Intruder are efff-ing hilarious. Talk about deep commitment to the bit, these guys have got the ski masks and song titles that continue to dive deep into the joke concept. But beneath the pop punk veneer is some solid songwriting and a command of multiple musical styles. Albums I and II are chock full of poppy rock and a snarl that easily transforms into a grin. Here we focus on the band’s most recent release Masked Intruder III, the 2020 Turbo edition (which contains three extra songs). Start with “Mine All Mine.” The opening guitar grind sounds like something pretty heavy but things quickly shift into a 1950s song style given a guitar-strong ELO treatment. “I’m Free (at Last)” is another track that starts in-your-face guitar strong only to relent under the force of the melodic hooks. “Please Come Back To Me” also perfectly balances the tension between slashing chords and seductive ‘wha-oo’ background vocals. You can test the melody resilience here by asking yourself how any of the songs might sound stripped down to acoustic guitar. Songs like “Not Fair” and “I’ll Be Back Again Someday” would easily pass. Turbo edition also includes a nice cover of the Joan Jett classic “Bad Reputation.”

23 years between albums didn’t seem to put any apparent dent in Marvelous 3’s appeal. Their recent LP, simply entitled IV, carries on where ReadySexGo left off, offering up a 1980s-certified melodic slice of AOR (album-oriented rock). “My Old School Metal Heart” kicks things off with an adrenaline-fueled rush only to slow the pace and press on again. I hear bits of Ike and John Faye’s solo work here and on “Kill the Motherfucker That Breaks Your Heart” and “If We’re On Fire (Let It Burn).” The melody winner on this record for me is “PTSD (Post Touring Singer’s Depression” with its languid feel and subtle hooks. “Jackie and Tina” is just a good old fashioned rock and roll stomper. When we come to “The Devil Made the World While God Was Sleeping” things turn a bit more British nineties indie with guitars that strike an otherworldly tone. I love the ‘oh oh’s that introduce “Time To Let It Go” which quickly pivots to a more Dave Kuchler easygoing Jersey poprock vibe. The album closer “Curtains” sounds like an instant FM radio classic, a real acoustic heartbreaker.

I was totally captivated by the distinct sonic aura that Ricky Rochelle created on his one-off solo single “In a Dream With You.” But this boy is no one-style wonder. On his recent record Kicked to the Curb with The Young Rochelles he dials back the Ramones speed pop punk that defined the band’s first LP to better accent the melodic twists and turns of his songs. This is so evident on the album opener “Chameleon,” a carefully calibrated poprock still life. “The End of Us” sounds like a return to a more punky form but again the melodic undercurrent is strong. There’s an almost Fountains of Wayne vibe to some of the tunes here, like “Breezy” and “Fractured Fairy Tales,” slightly speeded up. Cuts like “I Don’t Want to Grow Apart,” “Used to Sleep” and “Capture the Feeling” have a punky resonance but a closer listen reveals so much going on melodically. Could be hit single? “Vacation” has got the lead guitar hooks to lure you in. “I Just Saw a Little Love in Your Eyes” end things on a different note, a bit of straight up poprock radio fare.

Things are not always what they seem. Our three featured acts all put guitars to front and cranked their amps but eventually their heavy melodies leaked through. Now that’s the kind of mess I like.