Launch Control’s debut full-length, ‘The Omnipotent Wage’, is a thrilling crash course in politically charged punk, packed with intellect, attitude, and enough sonic variety to keep the listener on their toes. Hailing from Reading, the trio merge blistering guitar work, relentless drums, and piercing basslines with electronic flourishes and genre-bending experiments that stretch from metal riffs to hip-hop cadences.
Opening with the incendiary ‘Hedge Fundamentalism’, the album establishes its thematic mission: dissecting the power structures and financial forces that shape modern life. Songs like ‘Pax Britannica’ and the sprawling, experimental ‘…And While We Were Sleeping the Money Crept In’ lay bare the absurdities of societal control, while tracks such as ‘Warnography’ and ‘State of Agency’ wrestle with the consequences of living under constant manipulation.
Lee Switzer-Woolf’s commanding vocals act as the album’s moral compass, cutting through Alex J Steer’s sharp guitar lines and Seb Olward’s kinetic drumming with clarity and conviction. Steer’s production and Dave Chang’s mastering ensure that the album hits hard without ever feeling overproduced- every electronic sting, guitar chord, and drum hit is precise, yet retains the chaotic energy that makes Launch Control a force.
Launch Control combine feral punk energy with intelligence and social consciousness, creating an album that challenges, entertains. For anyone looking for punk that thinks as hard as it hits, this is a record not to be missed.