In a different world, which we think was shortly before COVID and MAGA and all things bad and in ALL CAPS occurred, Scene Point Blank had the idea to write a comprehensive piece about mailorder experiences from the people who dedicate their free time to sending you records, cds, tapes, zines and the like. Time makes fools of us all, and this piece disappeared into the digital abyss for a while. But when we reviewed the half-finished piece maybe a year ago we liked what we had a little too much to let it go. It's not written the way we first planned, but we've compiled 6 interviews here with a mission to give you a glimpse behind the scenes of an important and overlooked part of the biz. The interviews are with labels, zines, and distributors. The idea is to humanize the experience even more. Support your neighbors, support the people who play a role in that joy you get when you put the needle to the wax. Many fingerprints have touched your record before it was in your hands, in your ears, in your head and in your heart. Keith Ulrey – New Granada Records Scene Point Blank: Tell me a bit about who you are and what you do. Keith Ulrey: I've been running DIY label New Granada since the mid '90s. I also own/run small indie record shop Microgroove in Tampa, FL. My wife Susie and I play in the band Pohgoh. Music pretty much consumes … Read more
There’s a quiet weight to Spite House that doesn’t rely on volume or spectacle. Their songs sit in the uncomfortable … Read more
The Boys were perhaps one of the most underrated bands to ride the crest of the first wave of UK … Read more
The Darts have a busy year ahead. First, they will release the brand new full-length Halloween Love Songs on March … Read more
Spillings is a minimalist reconfiguration undertaken by two artists whose careers have been about genre deconstruction. The paths of Mathieu Ball and Liam Andrews have been running on parallel tracks, but both have been aiming for a similar endpoint. That is to strip down the heavy, experimental rock form, while at the same time retaining its destabilizing core. With Big … Read more
There’s a reason five doesn’t feel like just another EP title. This isn’t a casual release or a stopgap between bigger moves but a line in the sand. On their latest five song statement, Bombay’s Pacifist sound fully aware of the lineage they’re working within, and just as aware of how much effort it takes to keep those ideals alive … Read more
Pure Intentions is a hard hitting punk band first emerging in the Chicago scene in 2020. Since its formation by Joe Asshole and Tommy Volume, they have since added Judson Jones in 2024 to become its current standing trio. During that time, these guys have spread their gritty sound by touring the United States while gaining a strong following along … Read more
There are few bands in extreme metal who understand their own lane as well as Exhumed. For nearly three decades, Matt Harvey and company have made gore feel theatrical, technicality feel fun, and deathgrind feel almost celebratory. Red Asphalt doesn’t rewrite that formula but weaponizes it, straps it into the driver’s seat, and floors the accelerator straight into oncoming traffic. … Read more
Ok full disclosure, I sung backups on (allegedly) three of these songs and one song is a cover (albeit a stretch lol) of a song I co-wrote. What can I … Read more
Heather The Jerk is a project from Madison, WI musician Heather Sawyer -- a scrappy punk band with garage and pop influences running rampant through the peppy, raw sound. This … Read more
If you were lucky enough to catch Toys That Kill live last year, you were maybe treated to a set that included classic F.Y.P bangers like “Come Home Smelly” and … Read more
Split LPs can be a gamble, but Talk Trash With lands squarely like a swift kick to those tender testicles dancing in the steel-toe-boot category — ten tracks of loud, … Read more
Citric Dummies might be the band I saw live the most often in 2025, yet I put off a thorough review of their latest LP until the calendar turned to … Read more
Breakup records usually announce themselves with a band. There is betrayal, shouting, and doors slamming shut. Finis Amoris Est, the new EP from UK post-hardcore outfit Pageant Mum, takes a … Read more
Pat Todd is a roots rock and roll incarnate — a relentless road dog, grinding it out night after night with his hot-as-buckshot band, The Rankoutsiders. His shows are raw, … Read more
Following up 2024’s near-perfect Gay Boredom comes Lub Dub by Oregon’s The Dumpies. Recorded in Austin TX at the BBQ Shack by Jason Morales and Mike Vasquez, this is their second release on Dirt Cult Records. Bassist Tim Janchar, whose long running label Hovercraft Records is co-releasing the LP says … Read more
Norway's Barren Womb has announced a new split EP with Tokyo's HYLKO, coming out in between international tours -- the duo heads to the UK later this month, then the … Read more
The Aesop Rock and Homeboy Sandman collaboration Lice is back, with a new 8-track EP called Miami Lice: Season 4, out today digitally, with phusical copies available April 24. The … Read more
Jello Biafra, original vocalist of Dead Kennedys, suffered a hemorrhagic stroke on Saturday, March 7. In a prepared statement from Biafra, issued via Alternative Tentacles, Biafra says: I hopped out … Read more
Frank Turner has finally revealed the line-up for his 9th Lost Evenings Fest, taking place in Dallas, Texas at the South Side Ballroom from September 24th to the 27th. The … Read more
Experimental rapper dälek returns with a new concept record, Brilliance of a Falling Moon, inspired in part by the 2011 Erik Larson novel The Garden of Beasts, and taking on … Read more
Fucked Up continues to wrap up their Zodiac series with Year of Monkey, out officially on June 5 via Tankcrimes. While that's still a good two months away, the band … Read more
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