Flores y Fuego – Altar LP – “Soy tu Voz” A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Altar LP by Flores y Fuego. It’s startling when one realizes how far punk as progressed over the last thirty years or so. It could be argued that the turning point in the history of punk’s greatest evolution was when Epitaph Records broke the barrier between pop and punk in the Nineties; suddenly, production values and styling began to change dramatically....

Permanent DistortionHow the Financial Markets Abandoned the Real Economy Forever Let the record show that reading the “Books and Arts” section of a newspaper can actually be worth your time. Not that arts and books aren’t important. I love books. I love art. But, who has the time? If I hadn’t read the recommendation for Nomi Prins’ book in the Nation, I would have been worse off for it. And quite honestly, financial markets are a topic I have a...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Porterhouse Records reissue of SC.U.M.’s Born Too Soon LP. Listening to the reissue of Montreal-based punk/hardcore outfit SC.U.M.’s Born Too Soon LP really takes me back. I mean, I understand that the idea of a reissue is supposed to recall a time where the album in question was new and is capable of allowing a listener to inhabit that moment for a while – but the reissue of Born Too Soon...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the So Dumb, So Stoked 7” by Teenage Bottlerocket. In 2023, calling something instantly gratifying feels as though it might be a setup to defuse potential disappointment, but that is simply not the case when it comes to the So Dumb, So Stoked 7” – Teenage Bottlerocket’s first release for Pirates Press Records. In about nine minutes’ time, Teenage Bottlerocket illustrates that they haven’t slowed down, haven’t lost a step and haven’t...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Light one-sided 12” EP by Hunting Lions. While the quality of Hunting Lions’ Dark EP can’t be denied, anyone who hears the band’s Light EP (which will be released later this month and in the same format – with all the music on one side and a graphic on the other) may be inclined to argue that the band really held the best songs back for this release. From note one,...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into Hunting Lions’ Dark EP. While I can’t keep myself from wondering why Hunting Lions elected to keep the music on the Dark EP contained to just one side of this 12” (there’s five songs on one side and a graphic on the other), there is no question that the songs on this EP are excellent. In addition, it is pretty nice that the record needs no flipping to get the full experience...

Photos by the unbeatable Jen Vesp Photography...

Cool Hand Luke We’re excited here at Ground Control Magazine to get a chance to highlight the WB100 series where Warner Brothers are celebrating 100 years of entertainment by giving a much-needed re-release to some of the titans in their movie catalog. Paul Newman deserves celebrating and especially Cool Hand Luke: a movie infinitely quoted and referenced. The odd thing on this second watch of Cool Hand Luke is just how difficult it is to get a handle on...

Star Trek: Strange New WorldsSeason 1 What can I possibly say about Star Trek that hasn’t been said already. If you don’t know what it is, get a clue and get on board. I was very late to the party but have since gone very deep. Star Trek is a warm fuzzy place I don’t think I’ll ever want to leave. For a franchise that has done so much over so many years the idea of this Strange New Worlds...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the “Berliner Pilsner” 7” by C.C. Voltage. Prior to hearing the “Berliner Pilsner” 7” single, I confess that I had never heard any of C.C. Voltage’s music before but, after hearing these two songs, I feel like I know him. More than that, hearing the “Berliner Pilsner” 7” really takes me back to a different time; a time when when rock had a certain undeniable swagger and a kind of distortion which...