Loren

For many years now, Scene Point Blank has taken the opportunity as the year ends to formally "pass the mic" to our friends on the other side of the mostly-imaginary divide between listeners and artists. This year is no exception as we ask a bunch of bands, artists and labels to tell us about their 2025. What music did they … Read more

Pure Joy The 23rd FEST in Gainesville, Florida recently wrapped up. Scene Point Blank has been to the majority of them over the past two decades, beginning at FEST 5. I've personally attended roughly half of them. And at FEST 23, I saw 44 bands in 3 days (an even 50 if you count the pre-shows I attended). I took … Read more

FEST 23 takes place later this month, from Oct. 24-26 in Gainesville, FL. Something like a billion bands are driving, flying, canoeing, and snowshoeing to the festival from across the country -- many of them for the first time and many come back to play nearly every year. Scene Point Blank has traveled to “over half” of them (we’ve lost … Read more

Are you ready for The Fest!? While we’re pretty sure you’re already counting down days until your trek to Gainesville, FL, we’ve got some Fest games for you to play, including a few samples from this year’s performers. Click here to play FEST LIBS -- like a fill-in-the-blanks word game about all things Fest! We have 8 different options to … Read more

The less I say about 2025 the better. Well, except to say that Scene Point Blank's 2025 Year End coverage is in development so, actually, I'll be talking about the year a lot. Search/Play/Repeat is a sporadic playlist feature that's just about sharing music though, instead of hitting some topical … Read more

It's been a while since I put another playlist up. I actually had this 99% done a couple of months ago, but everything went haywire and the list went on hold. This edition of Search/Play/Repeat is a quick play, running about 30 minutes in total. Enjoy! Read more

Visual Learner, BlackDots, City Mouse, Couch Potato Massacre Cloudland Theater Minneapolis, MN May 7, 2025 I’m embarrassed that I haven’t covered any shows at Cloudland for SPB previously. It’s a relatively new addition to the Minneapolis scene and a welcome addition that feels as much like a community space as … Read more

Sometimes I get all introspective and ask myself why I do this. Not very often, but the answer is always because I like music. It's that simple. I like to discover new stuff and I like to share it. Every year, the staff at Scene Point Blank sink a ton … Read more

Chained to the Bottom of the Ocean has just announced a new album out next month. The band released Sisyphean Cruelty in 2024, and will release Let Us Not Speak Of Them But Look And Pass On on Feb. 20 via Redscroll Records. Read more Let Us Not Speak Of … Read more

Emo/post-hardcore band Family Medicine announced a new record coming up soon: Very Nice and Good, out March 13 on Little Elephant Records (vinyl/merch) and Friend Club Records (cassette). Read more Tour dates: 2/27 - St Louis - The Sinkhole (314Punk weekend 2/28 - St Louis - The Sinkhole w/Dan Spencer, … Read more

Scarboro just shared "Sin Futuro," the first song from the band's soon-to-release second album. The record is called Hate Season, out on Sell The Heart Records (U.S.) and WTF Records (EU) on April 17. From New York, the band blends '80s hardcore, skate punk, and the East Coast DIY influences. … Read more

Këkht Aräkh will soon return with album number three, Morning Star, out on March 27 on Sacred Bones. Rooted in black metal, the project adds layered soundscapes and moods, as in lead single "Three winters away," shared below. "This song was written by me in 2024, while I was writing … Read more