Mindless Self Indulgence (MSI) has spent a decade and a half cultivating a trashy blend of hip-hop, metal and electronic dance music. Their new album is true to form and their lyrics are as vulgar, misogynistic and homophobic as ever. However, beneath this dense morass of profanity is a solid foundation of genuinely catchy pop hooks.

It’s this contradiction between canny postmodern genre blending and intentionally, (albeit tongue-in-cheek), offensive lyrics that has made Mindless Self Indulgence an indie-rock guilty pleasure. It is the band’s reputation as a guilty pleasure that the album’s title wryly takes aim at. “How I Learned…” is the best argument yet that bandleader Jimmy “Urine” Euringer’s genius can no longer be ignored.

Eschewing traditional funding methods, MSI produced the album themselves before “holding it ransom” on crowdfunding site Kickstarter for as little as $1 for a full-album download. The album was released in March to their financial supporters on Kickstarter and has since been signed to their former label, Metropolis Records, for public release May 14,with an album tour in progress.

This newest offering blasts off in style with the frenetic “Witness,” a hyperbolic homage to hip-hop braggadocio. With its mixture of retro synths and metal chords, the song provides a hummable chorus while the singer proclaims, “God likes me. I am the best.”

The entire album has a 80s feel, specifically with their use of keys, and the cover art accentuates this with its use of neon. Other highlights include “You’re No Fun Anymore,” which begrudges some unknown friend his newfound sobriety over a swinging, jackhammer drum track and chugging guitars.

“A La Mode” cheerfully proselytizes the listeners about the clearly magical properties of ice cream. A call and response chorus answers, “Ice cream will fix it!” to such dubious issues as “Going to jail” and “You’re a failure.” Of all the tracks here, “A La Mode” probably has the best chance of becoming a radio hit due to its benign subject matter and relatively clean lyrics.

“How I Learned…” loses a little steam on the second half of the disc, but it’s nonetheless an enjoyably wild ride throughout. In some respects it is a departure from their last album, this album being more dance oriented as opposed to the more rock flirtations of “if.” On the other hand, it also continues a clear progression toward more polished production and more traditional chord and chorus structures compared to their earliest work.

Mindless Self Indulgence has always been a very niche band, and this album makes no bones about it. It revels in its sleaze, but if you don’t mind the vulgarity, “How I Learned…” is a heck of a party record.