Can two people constitute a ferocious rock band? When they’re as mean, tight, and talented as Intruder 424 are, they certainly can. Brothers Pete and Chris Biggiani prove they don’t need extra wattage, copious overdubs, or elaborate arrangements to make an indelible impression. Instead, they’ve perfected the basics: distorted, ringing six-string, pounding drums, impassioned vocals, singalong choruses, and hooks and riffs that go straight to the backbone. Sibling telepathy is easy to hear in “Make It Out Alive,” their latest single. Saying the Biggianis are on the same wavelength is a profound understatement. Together, they create a single signal that’s strong, clear, integral, and resonant.
That signal has been big and bright enough to distinguish Intruder 424 in a famously competitive scene: Toms River, New Jersey and its Shore environs. It’s a place where mediocrity isn’t tolerated and where musicianship is consistently recognized and appreciated. As Kodiak, the Biggiani brothers were part of one of the most celebrated hard rock bands to emerge from the Garden State during this millennium. They were lauded by the discriminating local press, championed by radio and TV host Matt Pinfield, and followed by a group of dedicated music fans. Those who loved Kodiak – and there were many – will be right at home with Intruder 424. Pete and Chris Biggiani have distilled the essence of their former group’s sound and streamlined it without simplifying it at all.
“Make It Out Alive” sounds full, bracing, and lively: it’s got the crunch of an arena-rock favorite, the propulsion of a basement punk party-starter, and the color, personality, and attitude we’ve come to associate with Jersey music. Yet its component parts are elemental: one guitar, one kit, one voice. The brothers are perfectly in sync and respond to each other brilliantly: riffs and drum fills locked together in a fierce embrace, vocals and drums delivering the same message of urgency. The “Make It Out Alive” clip reinforces the unity and self-sufficiency of the group. It shows Pete and Chris Biggiani in performance, on a stage bathed in infernal red light, doing what they do best – bringing the heat, pushing themselves higher and harder, playing with the combination of precision and abandon that has made them regional rock heroes. They barely need to look at each other. Their mutual understanding is palpable.
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