Shellshag is a two-piece band that formed in 1997, featuring Jennifer Shagawat and John "Shellhead" Driver, aka “Shell” and “Shag.” A lot changes over two ... read more
One day, we'll all look back on this year and laugh. Well, maybe not laugh... cry? Despair? Curse? Probably some combination of all the above. ... read more
What a year. The (probably apocryphal) curse goes "may you live in interesting times" and we're truly learning what it means to be alive during ... read more
2020, huh. It's been a memorable(?) year, that's for sure. In the years to come we'll probably remember it due to the contested presidential election ... read more
There are a lot of misconceptions about the life of a musician. The old rock star image of bright lights, fast living and traveling with ... read more
photo by Loren Green
It's been a wild ride for Scene Point Blank. Established in 2003, we've managed a steady transition of staff into our third decade (as the calendar tells it). Through that time we've remained dedicated to doing things our way while promoting independent music from a fan's perspective.
Want to join the team to help out? We are always on the lookout for anybody who is interested in writing record reviews, interviewing artists, posting news articles or helping with social media.
Posted Jan. 18, 2021, 10:32 a.m.
photo by Loren Green
The Descendents are back with a song for prex 45 that's approximate 45-seconds long.
Titled "That's The Breaks," the song follows the band's 2020 single Suffrage in tone. Watch it below.
Formed in 1978, Descendents last full-length was Hypercaffium Spazzinate in 2016.
Posted Jan. 16, 2021, 6:48 p.m.
Bound/Cured, a new x-ray flexi from Bleach Everything, comes out Jan. 29 through Dark Operative.
"Bound" is streaming online now, the first half of the new release. Brent Eyestone speaks to the band's approach on the new material:
When we made the RFTCC (Rocket from the Crypt Covers) recording last year, it unintentionally helped crack the code of how to blend melodic singing with harsher vocal elements. It always feels jilted and outright comical on my ears whenever Warped Tour-type bands attempt to blend guttural death metal vocals with pop punk choruses. I've always loved the concept of raging verses and anthemic choruses, but there's a very specific, kill-the-Death-Star-type precision involved with striking the right balance between those elements. Killing Joke are masters at it. Boysetsfire was one of the first bands ages ago that planted the seed that it's possible in more hardcore-oriented music. But working on RFTCC made it all finally click for our band... and we were more than happy to open up that new bag of tricks on 'Bound/Cured.' I still remember where I was and how it felt the first time I heard Graham's guitar melody on the chorus of 'Bound.' I instantly knew exactly what the song needed to be and heard the vocal parts just as immediately. It excited me far more than it terrified me, which was previously my default setting toward melodic singing in any band I've ever been in.
The band is also working on a new full-length.
Posted Jan. 16, 2021, 5:47 p.m.
It's 2021 and the world is as unpredictable as ever.
On January 31, several bands from Lookout! Records will reunite online for "Lookout Zoomout #1," featuring the singers and songwriters of The Mr. T Experience, Pansy Division, the Queers, cub, the Crumbs, and the Smugglers.
This is the first of a planned monthly series of Lookout! related online concerts throughout the year, presented by Oceanside Productions.
Active from 1987-2012, the label founded by Larry Livermore and David Hayes released notable records by Green Day, Operation Ivy, the Donnas, the Mr. T Experience, Screeching Weasel, and so so many more (Avail, American Steel, Citizen Fish, the list goes on...)
Hit the bump for more details. SPB recently caught up with Livermore to reminisce in our sound-focused series "What's That Noise?"
Posted Jan. 16, 2021, 2:35 p.m.
photo by Jonathan Weiner
NOFX are back with Single Album, a 10-song record produced by Bill Stevenson and Jason Livermore, due for release on Feb. 26.
Single Album is the band's 14th full-length and is being promoted as their most personal to date.
They shared a lead single, "Linewleum,” earlier this week (watch it below).
Says Fat Mike:
I have no idea why "Linoleum" is THE NOFX song that is covered by so many bands while other NOFX songs get hardly any attention. "Linoleum" wasn't a single, it had no video, it got no radio play, and most importantly, it didn't even have a chorus!!! All popular songs have choruses! WTF! So, One night I stayed up till 4:00 am checking out all the different versions on YouTube. Watching hundreds of bands from over 28 countries (mostly Indonesia) doing "Linoleum" was a humbling experience for me. So I decided to write a song that was a shout out to all those people that learned those four chords and remembered the non-rhyming lyrics. Then I asked the biggest of all the bands (Avenged Sevenfold) to play some leads on the song. Then M Shadows suggested we do a video together. Then I figured I should put all of the bands in the video. Well, I couldn't fit all the bands, but I picked a bunch of cool ones! A song about not playing a song that's not a hit song with a video about other bands covering the song! This is why I love punk rock writing punk songs. Rules out the door!
Posted Jan. 16, 2021, 2:03 p.m.
photo by Stefaan Temmerman
Currently scheduled for October 8-10 in Porto, Portugal, Amplifest 2021 has announced additional pieces of the three-day festival line-up.
We previously shared news of Cult of Luna, Caspian, and Holy Fawn. Now the fest has added Amenra, Oranssi Pazuzu, Envy, Wolves in the Throne Room, Jo Quail, and Telepath.
Posted Jan. 16, 2021, 1 p.m.
God Is An Astronaut - Ghost Tapes #10
Post-rockers God Is An Astronaut return with a new full-length record called Ghost Takes #10, on Feb. 12 through Napalm Records.
Kicking things off with the "Fade" video (below), the new record is the band's 20th studio album (hence the name) during their roughly 20 year career.
Posted Jan. 16, 2021, 12:33 p.m.
photo by Mars Vallon
Chicago musicial Rat Tally has joined 6131 Records and, as of yesterday, released a new single "Shrug" on the new label hom.
With a style described as alternately straight forward and poetic, Rat Tally previously self-released an EP named When You Wake Up, leading to 6131 taking notice.
Listen to the single below.
Posted Jan. 16, 2021, 11:34 a.m.
Kali Masi - [laughs]
Kali Masi has a new LP coming in early spring, with a title ripped straight from SPB's interview style guide: [laughs].
An advance animated video is out now, "Trophy Deer," which we've embedded below.
The new record releases March 26 on Take This To Heart Records and Homebound Music (EU).
Posted Jan. 16, 2021, 11:07 a.m.
Urban Idols, a late '90s Chicago punk band featuring members of The Vindictives and The Methadones, have a new EP of unreleased goodies from their 2000 Sonic Iguana recording sessions.
Twenty years after the fact, Punkhead Records is releasing them as a 5-song EP called Revisited -- including the song "Conspiracy" with a video shared after the jump.
Gainesville, FL’s Dikembe have been playing around the scene for quite a few years but I’ve never actually checked out their recorded material. I saw them back at Pre-Fest 6 and enjoyed it live but their brand of emo isn’t really my bag. It’s the kind of music that I find really impressive live but rarely moves me when listening at home. In other words, I respected the band but they just weren’t my thing.Well, they put out a new record last ...
A nice little seven song ep of mid-tempo and introspective punk rock for us dads in our late thirties. These guys seem to have been around for some time but ...
I have to admit that I’ve heard a few songs by The Lippies in the past, but never sat down with their 2016 debut and absorbed it in any sense. ...
Elegant desert-shoe-gaze-rock from Santa Fe, New Mexico FFO Pigrow, Storming The Beaches With Logos In Hand and Father John Misty. The landscapes and artistry of Santa Fe, New Mexico comes through ...
It would be appropriate to refer to Pussy Riot not only as revolutionary art collective, but a cultural phenomenon that has itself firmly established on international terrain. Having first risen ...
The world needs more 5-song EPs. Why? Because this is a record, not a single with a b-side. The Shape of Bummers To Come has a united vibe from start to finish and ...
It was a surprise to see Run The Jewels’ RTJ4 as Scene Point Blank’s top-billed record for all of 2020, but it demonstrates the widespread scope of its impact on ...
If there is one artist and one album that doesn't need my judgement of their art for validation (well, okay this applies to all artists), it's Fiona Apple and her ...
Im Wald begins on the slow, crunching footsteps of "Im Winterwald," while howling winds build a canopy of sound, offering a vision of how the succeeding time will unfold. That ...
2020 is the year of a lot of things -- and a lot of concept records.But not a lot of ghost-themed concept records.Houseghost is an Ohio trio that shares vocals ...
Remind me to kick myself for sleeping on this album, but in my defense, its description as a combination of hardcore and country presents two genres that don’t exactly have ...
The Formative Years – Glitterhouse Records It must have been in the early 1990 that through acquisition of a large fanzine collection, I came across old back issues of ... read more
Art Gear – Faber Castell Welcome to the first instalment of a new series dedicated to the arts and gear that has tried, tested and proven to be useful ... read more
Thus Let us Drink Beer – Pirate Life I have covered quite a few Australian breweries over the last couple of years as part of this series and discovered ... read more
Magic Mike Live Moore Park Sydney, Australia January 9, 2021 Apparently, the concept of the stage adaption of Magic Mike Live was incepted on the set of the film of ... read more
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