Every time a Launch Control release lands on my desk, I am reminded of how successful music has always been at spreading ideas, raising questions, challenging the status quo (the social equilibrium, not the band), and speaking truth to power. Well, it used to be, but bands in the modern age seem reluctant to raise their head above the parapet or say anything remotely contentious. Thankfully, not this band.
And if one of their tracks feels like a rabble-rousing cry for justice, a whole album feels like the soundtrack to a revolution…or at least the beginnings of a seismic shift in attitudes and acceptance, blind faith and cultish allegiance. (This is not music to paint roundabouts or raise Poundland flags to, and that’s for sure.)
It doesn’t hurt that they wrap their messages and missives in gnarly, punk-infused alt-rock meets political post-punkery… i.e., all the sounds that make me happy. But it is essential to listen to the words too; these are some of the most fiercely intelligent sonic statements you will have heard in a long time.
“…And While We Were Sleeping The Money Crept in” is perhaps the singularly critical and astute reflection of our times, more so if you are reading this in the US, but where the US leads, the world blindly follows, so the relevance is universal. “Warnography” also speaks to how the world seems to accept that war is not only justified but also the only solution, and does so in a sonically articulate way, at times sounding much like early New Model Army giving pop-punk a go. Again, a good thing.
“Everything is Fine, Stay Calm” has a dark yet seductive effect, an emo-infused anthem for those who toe the line, don’t cause trouble, and keep their head down in a world we have been cowed into subservience.
There is not one song, one idea, or one word here that doesn’t resonate with where society and politics, as well as business and government, stand in the modern age. And, unlike their punk predecessors, they are not just bored teenagers telling us to smash the system out of some inarticulate cultural rage or rhetoric. This is a sonic TED talk about where we are, how we got here, and where we go next.
The Omnipotent Wage is the most essential album you’ll listen to in a long time.
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