Frank Turner
Undefeated
Xtra Mile (2024)
The singer-songwriter gig is a hard one. You have to be the center of attention, captivating your audience from start to finish. Yes, Frank Turner plays with a backing band (The Sleeping Souls), but the focus is always on Turner, be it on stage or on a 14 song LP. And he’s willing to put it all out there. Many … Read more
Frankie & The Heartstrings
The Days Run Away
Wichita Recordings (2013)
Some musicians view making music as a vocation, something that they will entirely devote their lives to, to the extent that it seeps into everything they do. Frankie & The Heartstrings don't do things by halves. In the wake of the release of The Days Run Away, their second album after 2011's Hunger, they've opened a pop-up record shop in … Read more
Franz Ferdinand
Franz Ferdinand
Sony (2004)
Recently it seems like every magazine I pick up has something positive to say about Franz Ferdinand; Franz Ferdinand this, Franz Ferdinand that. It's always Franz, Franz, Franz! Yet there are still people who ask, "Who is Franz Ferdinand?" That?s a completely reasonable question, because not everyone reads music magazines. Archduke Francis Ferdinand?s assassination was one of many causes of … Read more
Franz Ferdinand
You Could Have it So Much Better
Sony (2005)
No longer is Franz Ferdinand the sole property of Glasgow's skinny tie wearing indie elite. They are now a phenomenon. Actually, scratch that. They are a worldwide fucking phenomenon. This results in two things. Firstly, the anticipation surrounding their sophomore album, You Could Have it So Much Better, is massive. And secondly, I no longer look cool for being able … Read more
Franz Nicolay
Do The Struggle
Xtra Mile (2012)
It must be stated that the quirkily moustachioed Franz Nicolay is an intriguing and rather singular gentleman. For those who saw him live during his time in either The Hold Steady or World/ Inferno Friendship Society, it was evident that the multi-instrument wielding troubadour had the potential to become a great front man. However his earlier solo material never really … Read more
Franz Nicolay
To Us, the Beautiful
Silver Sprocket (2015)
Franz Nicolay is often billed as an ex-member of The Hold Steady, an ex-member of The World/Inferno Friendship Society, or a former touring member of Against Me! He’s a working musician, and while his contributions to other bands are notable, they never showcased the full extent of Nicolay’s talents. Franz has been releasing solo-records since 2007. With his latest album, … Read more
Frenzal Rhomb
Hi-Vis High-Tea
Fat Wreck Chords (2017)
It would be easy for the uninitiated to dismiss Frenzal Rhomb and throw them into the bucket of playful pop-punk epigones from Australia. While their sound does incorporate the key ingredients of what makes the likes of The Offspring, Bad Religion, NOFX and Blink 182 appealing and palatable, all of which they have toured with, it is the mélange of … Read more
Freshman 15
Throw Up Your Hands for One Night Stands
Standby (2009)
This is a tough one. At some point, there was a crossover between cheesy melodic pop-punk and the worn-out "scene" image of white belts and devil locks. It became cool to sound like Simple Plan as long as you listened to August Burns Red, and constantly posted pictures of how tough your band looks. I've done my best to avoid … Read more
Friend Roulette
I See You. Your Eyes Are Red.
Good Night (2015)
As far as indie-rock goes, Friend Roulette’s sophomore album I See You. Your Eyes Are Red. is pretty gothic. I don’t mean “gothic” as in Bauhaus and bats, but more in the sense of classic literature imbued with feelings of terror and longing. This six-piece band from Brooklyn is both bold and bizarre, featuring violin, clarinet and two percussionists along … Read more
Frog
Kind Of Blah
Audio Antihero (2015)
Frog’s second LP Kind of Blah is one that swings from highs to lows, from poppy pep to slowed down sadness and it encompasses every other emotion within it’s short running time that any of us would know. Opener “All Dogs Go To Heaven” is a guitar led-piece that showcases the duo’s bittersweet indie pop and sets out their intent … Read more
Frog Eyes
The Folded Palm
Absolutely Kosher (2004)
Make no mistake: Victoria, B.C. based band Frog Eyes aren't the amphibious offshoots of cacophonous rabble-rousers Wolf Eyes. If anything, these 'Eyes' are a whole different breed of animal. On The Folded Palm, the group's first for Absolutely Kosher and third overall, Frog Eyes fuse a unique sound encompassing lush, bittersweet organ melodies, reverb-heavy guitars, the freewheeling antics of a … Read more
From a Second Story Window
Delenda
Metal Blade (2006)
Though never officially diagnosed, I am almost certain that I suffer from some form of Attention Deficit Disorder. Apparently, only 4 to 6 percent of all Americans actually have ADD. This estimate seems remarkably low considering the ever-decreasing attention spans of many modern hardcore/metal bands. From a Second Story Window are a technically adept quintet that sporadically weave various elements … Read more
From Ashes Rise
Rejoice The End / Rage Of Sanity
Southern Lord (2012)
Formed in Nashville, Tennessee during the mid-‘90s American crust punk swell, From Ashes Rise later relocated to their current base in Portland, Oregon, where alongside fellow scene forerunners His Hero Is Gone, Tragedy and Hellshock, they helped cast the prototype for modern-day “epic crust punk”—a big sound that, while still rooted in anarcho-minded lyricism, apocalyptic imagery and D-beat, displays a … Read more
From Oceans to Autumn
Pareto Analysis II: The Vital Few
Independent (2013)
From Oceans to Autumn is a band that I was surprised was not on my post-metal radar. They have a surprisingly prolific (and notably high-quality) output for a band that was just formed in 2006, and with the release of the second volume in their Pareto Analysis series, The Vital Few, they are showing no signs of slowing down.What I … Read more
From the Ground Up
Words Can't Explain
Round Two (2006)
Words Can't Explain may be the title of this compilation of From The Ground Up's 2004 demo and a handful of new songs recorded in 2005, but I'd be likely to say that words can explain, however. The band's one-sheet describes the sound of From the Ground Up as "mixing the vocals of Turning Point with the musical influences of … Read more
Frontierer
Oxidized
Independent (2021)
So, here’s the new Frontierer. I’ll cut it as is right out of the gate – it’s a disappointment. I’ve seen the backlash at people criticizing the record, but they’re few in between and most seem to praise it to high heaven, which…is honestly mystifying to me – but – to each his own. I’ll level with all of you, … Read more
Frostmourn
Fall of Lordaron
Independent (2005)
Contrary to what anyone may think, writing an unbiased review is actually a pretty difficult process. I mean, when it comes to certain bands that you may have liked for years, that whole impartiality thing is a lot harder to come by than for a band you've never heard of before. What's worse is that when Frostmourn's Fall of Lordaron … Read more
Fu Manchu
We Must Obey
Liquor and Poker Music (2007)
If you are reading this, you are wasting time. Buy Fu Manchu's We Must Obey and buy it now. The album's already a few months old, yet without a review on Scene Point Blank. Injustice I say, injustice! Fu Manchu's tenth album orders you to buy it, to cherish it, to love it. And well... We must obey! For the … Read more
