WHO: Mannequin Pussy WHAT: Perfect WHY: Mannequin Pussy is one of the most exciting punk bands around at the moment. They’re just one of those bands where every element of their music comes together and elevates the songs: they probably have the best drummer in punk rock, and this is a wonderful complement to the bass playing which sounds big and tight. Singer Marisa Dabise’s vocals are powerful and passionate. Perfect, the follow-up EP to their massive hit album, is...
WHO: Down By Law WHAT: Lonely Town WHY: One of my loves when I was coming up in my punk days that I keep falling for every time they release a new album. As one of the best bands to surface from the Epitaph 90s era, Down By Law has kept going for more than 30 years, still releasing their own brand of pop punk. It’s also a very special era in Down By Law history as the punkrockacedmyfightsong lineup...
WHO: The Bronx WHAT: The Bronx VI WHY: The Bronx don’t have a single bad album. Not many bands can claim that. Fewer punk bands still. Bronx VI brings with it everything good that you’d expect from an album. It’s riff heavy, it pounds mercilessly, it simmers and builds, it’s filled with great musicianship on every level, and it knows not to take itself seriously. That threatening aura is still there, but this time, you can sing along to it....
Here we go, dear readers! It’s been a hell of a year and hopefully the worst of it is over. Things are slowly opening back up, social events are possible to some degree, and some of us are even going to be able to go back to school in person. Hopefully things will continue to get better. A new year, of course, brings with it a new Back to School guide from us at Ground Control Magazine. Will it be...
WHO: Vicious Dreams WHAT: Selftitled WHY: We try to stick to the newest releases on the Spotlight column, but this album is just too good to pass up. Vicious Dream’s Selftitled sounds like the Rezillos but louder, snottier, faster, and tighter. Vicious Dreams tread’s the thin line between threatening and fun, like a rollercoaster ride. Except this one goes on for 30 minutes and will leave you wanting more. Hear it on...
WHO: Death From Above 1979 WHAT: Is 4 Lovers WHY: DFA1979 is one of those bands that’s both hard to define and instantly familiar when you hear them: giving off an aggressive, threatening aura that’s also easy to dance to. It’s also just two Canadian dudes making all this noise. “Bursting onto the scene” in 2004 with their debut album, then taking a decade-long break, this band has stayed the course with each consecutive release, bringing juicy riffs and heavy...
WHO: Scott Reynolds WHAT: Chihuahua in Buffalo WHY: In a perfect world, Scott Reynolds would be a rich man. His skill as a songwriting is unmatched. His career has led from ALL, to Goodbye Harry, Pavers, and now his solo venture. No one tells a self-contained story in one song better than Reynolds. His latest Chihuahua in Buffalo is a straight-up acoustic album of new songs and revisits of his older material. They’re about relationships, dating, struggle, and loss. It’s...
WHO: Bracket WHAT: Like You Know WHY: If you’re a Bracket fan, you’re either a lover of pop punk, the Fat Wreck sound, or both. Like You Know if a new old album, meaning it’s an album that was meant to be the follow-up to their stellar debut 4-Wheel Vibe that never surfaced after their label went under. Now, it’s finally here. Why wait till now, we’ll never know, but Like You Know is a time capsule both in composition...
WHO: Liquid Death/Various Artists WHAT: Greatest Hates Vol. 2 WHY: A silly concept album that has no business being this good. Because casual searches online can’t seem to shed any light on whether there’s anything special about this product, I’m comfortable saying Liquid Death is just water. Canned water that looks punk rock. As Liquid Death’s website itself says, it’s completely unnecessary. And so, Twitter has a lot of opinions on why this a dumb product. That was expected. What...
WHO: Nick Cave & Warren Ellis WHAT: Carnage WHY: Nick Cave has the distinct pleasure of getting better with age. Immense tragedy is hit his life over the years and, though it all, the man (with the assistance of his collaborator Warren Ellis) has produced some of the most introspective, heartbreaking, and powerful music of his career. Their latest effort Carnage fits in perfectly with that trend. It’s haunting, profound, honest, and simmers to a boil. It’s a record that...