Vicious DreamsSelf-titled Get ready, dear readers because this is one of the good ones. It’s tough getting music recommendations, because most of the time, people don’t know what they’re talking about. So, when I made up a pile of compelling music to go through my ears perked up when Vicious Dreams came on. I was expecting music that might sound like contenders to put on my heavy rotation, not something that I immediately fell in love with. I had to...
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: Mikey Erg WHAT: Selftitled WHY: Mikey Erg might best be known for being the go-to drummer for every band on earth and his work in seminal pop punk band The Ergs! but the man has a solo career every bit as interesting. His new self-titled album serves as a back-to-form of sorts from the more experimental stuff he’s been putting out and it’s got all the hard-hitting pop punk hooks, riffs, and girl songs you’d expect from someone with...
WHO: Nice Guys WHAT: Self-titled WHY: I’ll gladly say that Nice Guys are the best band in Boston and fight anyone who wants to challenge that. Remember, this isn’t exactly the same band from 5 years ago. They used to stick to the EP format and sounded raw and sloppy as they should being a weedcore band. Nowadays they’re a tight proggy hardcore punk band and have finally bestowed their debut LP on us. It’s punk rock blast, fast, spastic,...
Run-DMCRun-DMC(Get On Down Records reissue)photo: turntablelab.com Whenever we get a chance we like to keep it local here on Ground Control. We do it with our bands and we do it with our labels. I’m Boston based and how Get on Down has escaped me for all these years, I’ll never know. The best part is that I found out about them through word of mouth from my local record store in Somerville called Index Records. Well, my record (no...
The MonsieursSelftitled Worship the mighty Monsieurs! Here in Boston it’s hard to find a harder rocking trio of musicians who are cooler than the Monsieurs. They are just one of these bands that should be appreciated by the masses but at the same time are reserved for those who “get it.” And if you don’t get the Monsieurs, then you need to reconsider your priorities, sir. For the uninitiated, the Monsieurs play a dirty and uninhibited form of garage rock...
311 Selftitled Have you considered the reputation 311 gets nowadays? I’ll refer you to a running gag on the Eric Andre show where they substitute the names 311 and 911 when quoting conspiracies. These were followed by surf-rock-type flailing and hippy dancing. At the end of last season they actually had 311 on to torture while they performed Down. It’s all in good fun, however, as Andre has gone on record saying that he thinks 311 is an underrated band....