Features / Music

Our series

We post a variety of features in recurring series – click below to browse them.

• Against Orthodoxy

  A regular series by Robert F.

• Beyond Casual Observation

  A wide-ranging guest column written by BJ from Ancient Shores, mainly covering film but extending into philosophy and aesthetics too. Check out BJ's work on the A389 podcast.

• Don't Quit Your Day Job

  How an artist spends their time by day will influence the creative process at night. In Don’t Quit Your Day Job, Scene Point Blank looks at how musicians split their time, and how their careers influence their music.

• era vulgaris

  Guest column by T of Vegas

• Feast with the Famine

  A cookery column by Nick, vocalist with metal band The Famine. Veggie/vegan friendly!

• Fest 11

  A roundup of coverage of the annual punk rock festival held in Gainesville, Florida

• Fest 12

  Our annual roundup from Gainesville, FL's famous Fest.

• Fest 13

  SPB's coverage of the annual festival in Gainesville, Florida.

• Fest 16

  Our coverage of the annual Fest extravaganza.

• Fest 19

  Our coverage of the 19th edition of the Fest – an independent multi-day, multiple-venue music festival held annually in Gainesville, Florida.

• Fest 20

  All our coverage from the long-running music festival

• Fest 21

  Articles about the Fest 21

• Fest 22

  Our coverage of the 22nd edition of the FEST.

• Fest 23

  Our coverage of the 23rd edition of the FEST.

• History 101

  We dive into the back catalog of a record label and ask them to nominate their most memorable releases from their label's history–with a few suggestions of our own.

• Jukebox Jury

  An interview format where we ask a band to rate and review a bunch of music

• New Kids On The Block

  A feature where we highlight 5 to 10 recent demos.

• On The Air

  A radio DJ profile series created by Christopher D & Matt Hutchison.

• Only Death Is Real

  There’s so much music released, whether physically or digitally, that keeping up with what’s going on becomes almost like a full time job. With Only Death Is Real, the aim is to bring you something new.

• Remember that one time...?

  A life lived and lessons learned by Eddie Spaghetti of Supersuckers.

• Running on Nothing

  Welcome to Running on Nothing, the latest addition to our stable of columns at Scene Point Blank. Running on Nothing offers a look at the world through the eyes of Kole, bassist of The Lippies, guitarist of The Bloody Lips, and gigposter artist.

• Scatenato Ma Non Troppo

  We survey some of the other music releases out there.  Results may vary...may get weird, but hopefully something covered here piques your interest.

• Scene Point Local

  A semi-regular column where we choose a specific area and give a local scene report.

• Table Talk

  Discussing the state of the music business at the kitchen table

• The Greatest Story Ever Told

  A brief but englightening chat with an artist who reveals an interesting or unexpected story from their career

• The Set List

  A collection of items grouped by topic, eg. "Top 5 Worst Beatles Songs" or "Top 10 best '77 punk releases".

• What's That Noise?

  One-question interviews with artists where we find out about the gear and equipment they use to achieve their sound.

• Year End 2012

  A collection of coverage rounding up the year 2012, covering our favorite albums, shows, bands, and more, as well as asking record labels and bands about their past twelve months in music

• Year End 2013

  It's the end of 2013, so here's our best-of roundup for the last twelve months.

• Year End 2014

  Our annual round-up of the best music of the year 2014.

• Year End 2015

  Our annual round-up of the best music of the year 2015.

• Year End 2016

  Our annual round-up of the best music of the year 2016.

• Year End 2017

  Our annual round-up of the best music of the year 2017.  

• Year End 2018

  Our summary of the best music (and more) of 2018.

• Year End 2019

  Our wrap-up of the best music and more from 2019

• Year End 2020

  Our wrap-up of the best music and more for the year we'll all want to otherwise forget, 2020.

• Year End 2021

  Our roundup of the best music from the worst year (since the previous one, anyway).

• Year End 2022

  Our favorite music and more from the year 2022

• Year End 2023

  Our roundup of the best music of the year 2023

• Year End 2024

  Our roundup of the best music—and more—of 2024.

• Year End 2025

  Our favorite music and more from 2025.

More recent features — Music

Guest List: ADD Records Picks 5 Favorite Leatherface Songs

Music / The Set List • October 18, 2025

This summer Little Rocket Records announced Leatherface: The Peel Sessions, a collection of live studio recordings with Leatherface from the 1990s with the late John Peel. While Little Rocket handled the release, ADD Records took on US distribution for a limited release. Available from ADD records here As Leatherface means so much to so many, we figured they'd be a … Read more

Bo Diddley Plaza: Behind the Scenes at Fest

Music / Fest 23 • October 6, 2025

For close to a quarter-century punk fans have flocked to Florida for The Fest. Boasting a lineup of 300+ bands and roughly a dozen venues these days, the festival has grown, shifted and evolved. For several years the main stage has been in a large downtown park called Bo Diddley Plaza, named for the influential musician and one-time Gainesville resident. … Read more

Demos You Want To Check #1

Music / New Kids On The Block • September 14, 2025

The musical landscape is ever changing. New genres are popping up, new hypes burst out of nowhere and die out and new bands present themselves to the world. How on earth are you expected to keep up, right? Well, it never hurts to help! So here we are, your humble servants, ready to sift through those filters for you, presenting … Read more

Sell The Heart Records – History 101

Music / History 101 • August 3, 2025

Like most independent labels, Sell The Heart started to document a scene without really asking themselves “Where do you see yourself in 15 years?” In 2010, founder Andy Pohl was barely even thinking about vinyl. In “History 101” tradition, Scene Point Blank picked out some of the label's notable releases to get a reflection at 15 years. SPB picked out … Read more

Scene Point Blank's Favorites: The Year So Far (July 2025)

Music • July 6, 2025

We're halfway through the year: when did that happen?! Luckily for you, SPB is on hand to share the music we've enjoyed most in 2025 thus far. Read on to hear about the records that have made our top list for this year as it stands, and also some bonus fun about hypothetical band reunions we've been inspired by thanks … Read more

Shane Herrell: A Tribute

Music • July 6, 2025

Shane Herrell: Rest In Power(pop) (1980-2025) The Rocker I try to live my life with as few regrets as possible. Sadly I never got the chance to hear my friend Shane Herrell karaoke Thin Lizzy’s "The Rocker." As a singing bass player we don’t have enough heroes. It might just be my alcohol addled memory but right now as I … Read more

Caterwaul 2025

Music • May 13, 2025

Each year in late May, the 4-day party and noise-rock festival Caterwaul takes over multiple venues in Minneapolis. It’s a stacked lineup this year, to put it mildly, with each night’s headliners FACS, Young Widows, Naw, Pissed Jeans, and Uniform -- and that’s leaving a ton of other great bands off the list in the name of keeping our intro … Read more

Guest List: Steven Fairweather (Gob) – The Gateway And The Getaway

Music / The Set List • May 13, 2025

Steven Fairweather is a Canadian musician, radio show host, and comic book writer. He is best known as the bassist of the punk band Gob and the founder of Stranger Radio, an independent online radio station. -- Before the internet, before streaming, before Shazam could tell you what was playing in my local dive bar jukebox in five seconds flat … Read more

2024: A Year In Review

Music / Year End 2024 • January 13, 2025

It's a new year – hooray. And things are off to a fine start, too. If the thought of corrupt governments, AI domination, unmoderated social networks and endless war is causing you to retreat into the past, we don't blame you. In fact, we encourage it! Our writers have summed up the best things about 2024 across a range of … Read more

Scene Point Blank's Favorites: Year End (2024)

Music / Year End 2024 • January 4, 2025

It's 2025, somehow. When did this happen?! Okay, okay, four days ago. But honestly. It feels like 2012 was only a few months ago. Is it just SPB who's feeling a little, well, timestruck? But don't worry – we've got you. Did 2024 pass you by, too? Still not caught up on all the albums you suspect were released in … Read more

Pass The Mic: Artists and labels on 2024

Music / Year End 2024 • January 4, 2025

It's a SPB tradition to formally "pass the mic" to our artist and label friends to tell us about their year in music. What albums did they enjoy? What shows did they see? What are they looking forward to for the new year? We're joined this year by a host of folks: Frank Turner, Justin Pearson, Tobias Jeg, Body Stuff, … Read more

Red Scare Industries - History 101

Music / History 101 • December 10, 2024

Hey folks, Toby here, and the SPB team asked me to provide some insights about some stuff from our catalog now that Red Scare is (you gotta be shittin’ me?!) twenty years old. Specifically a “memory or modern take” on some past releases, and they picked some doozies, so let’s dive in… We’re as surprised as label head Toby Jeg … Read more

The Fest 22 – Reviewed

Music / Fest 22 • November 6, 2024

How do you sum up a 3-day weekend where you’ve spent approximately 36 hours watching live music and seen nearly 50 bands -- and also missed another 300? The Fest is a wonderful beast where you venue hop to catch up-and-comers, watch headliners outside on the big stage, and stumble onto one-off side projects with some of your favorite musicians … Read more

FEST LIBS 22

Music / Fest 22 • October 22, 2024

 We've rolled out an extra-special feature for this year's Fest: that's right, it's FEST LIBS. You've played it before, but not like this – fill in our interactive form here, then sit back and read your customised FEST LIBS. The results may surprise you. But before you go generate your own FEST LIBS, we've asked some friends in bands performing … Read more

Fest 22: Artist Interviews

Music / Fest 22 • October 22, 2024

While I want to say that Scene Point Blank went big this year with so many interviews in this feature, the truth is that it's barely a fraction of the bands that play at FEST 22, taking place in Gainesville, FL from Oct. 25-27. The artists featured are just a small sample who we've asked to talk about why they … Read more