Round Eye Monster Vision (Sudden Death Records) Even on first examination of Monster Vision, it’s perfectly clear how poised to totally reinvigorate punk rock Round Eye really are now. The band’s 2015-issued debut album hit those who heard it like a force of nature and won converts to the band’s banner effortlessly, but their sophomore effort is something else; Monster Vision manages to retain the fury and mania of its predecessor, but also illustrates that the group isn’t just a...

Three Mile Island by Mark Stephens You can’t fly into Harrisburg Pennsylvania and not notice those giant smoking towers looming near the airport. It’s like you’re landing at the nuclear power plant in Springfield. In fact, they’re the cooling towers of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant where a nuclear catastrophe almost happened in the 1970s. Something happened – a radioactive spill? – but no one quite knows for sure. According to Wikipedia, something ALMOST happened, but again, it’s...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Apostasy LP by Garbageface X Yung Gutted. Anyone who is already familiar with Karol “Garbageface” Orzechowski’s output knows the emcee has a pretty dark and potentially violent disposition (2016’s NØ FUTUR(E) 7” illustrated that really well), but he’s really stepped up his game on Apostasy with the help of NYC producer Yung Gutted. This time the movement is exponentially slower; in print, readers may assume the music is more methodical in...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the We Are Busy Bodies released, 2LP reissue of Make A Pest A Pet by Age Of Electric. First, it’s important to point out that this new reissue of Make A Pest A Pet – the third and final album by Age Of Electric before the band went on its first hiatus – marks the first occasion whereupon the album has been released on vinyl. Before now, MAPAP was available on CD,...

Ty Segall Singles 2007-2010 Double LP What makes great music? Tough question, I know. So maybe it’s better to ask, “Why do we listen to music?” What does music have to offer? Well, that is going to vary from person to person, but I think most people can agree that good music does something to you. It changes your mood. It takes you from point A to point B. It has the power to liberate you. It empowers. In order...

The Body Builders: Inside the Science of the Engineered Human by Adam Piore One of the greatest things science can offer us is the ability to better ourselves: improve where possible, correct mistakes, fix what might be broken. That work is certainly going on right now and Adam Piore’s Body Builders presents itself as a look behind all the science that goes behind engineered humans. It’s right there in the title. The problem is that that isn’t really the case,...

The term “living legend” gets thrown around a lot, but there’s no doubt about it: Lee “Scratch” Perry is a certified living legend. The man has had such an influence on both Jamaican and world music and has had a hand in producing such a wide range of acts from The Clash to Bob Marley to the Beastie Boys that it would almost be easier to name the bands that haven’t spent time in the studio with the man. But...

Appetites: A Cookbook by Anthony Bourdain Welcome to our first cook book on Ground Control! One Of many, we hope… I think it can be said that Anthony Bourdain is the punk rock chef. Sure, he’s on a major network and doesn’t exactly publish through an independent publisher, but then again neither did the Clash. It’s Bourdain’s outlook and approach to his craft that makes him punker than most. The man does love the Stooges, after all… If you’re a...

Mastodon Emperor Of Sand (Reprise/Warner) After having spent the last few years stretching stylistically in a few different directions (The “White Walker” single found a home as the lead track for a season of HBO’s Game Of Thrones, 2014’s Once More ‘Round The Sun say the band get leaner and almost blurring the lines between metal and punk rock a bit), there’s something refreshing and exciting about the fact that Mastodon has made a glorious return to the sort of...

311 Transistor What was 311 supposed to do with the explosion that occurred when they released their selftitled album in the 90s? You know, the one with Down and All Mixed Up? Those songs were massive, the ALBUM was massive, and it helped firmly establish 311 as a band everyone was paying attention to – both where they came from and where they were headed. With all the momentum, it seems 311 was poised to go to...