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Unseemlier

Interviews • April 24, 2026

It was about a year ago I discovered Unseemlier, shortly before the release of I Have A Screw Loose, Somewhere. It's a wordy title and a somewhat unwieldy band name -- and I’ll use that “a lot going on in a little space” metaphor even further to talk about the band's "heavy emo / soft punk" sound. It's singsong at times, riff heavy at others. It's contemplative music in a scene that is often best known for its aggression. It's an outlier but, yet, it just fits. It just makes sense. We caught up with singer/guitarist Mike to talk about how all the pieces fit together. They just announced a repress of I Have A Screw Loose, Somewhere (Sell The Heart/Little Rocket) and will be playing at Pouzza Fest and Midwest Friends Fest in May. Scene Point Blank: I know how I've described your sound in a couple of writeups, but you really walk the line between a lot of subsets of the punk scene. Where do you think Unseemlier fits -- how do you describe your sound? Mike: I have a hard time with this, but I always have with any band I’ve ever been in. It’s always a funny interaction trying to describe it to a co-worker or someone not in the “punk world.” I called us “Heavy Emo/Soft Punk" and it kinda became the description. What I meant by it was: it’s emo with heavier subject matter lyrically and more palm muting/chugging on guitar... orrr it's less … Read more

Guest List: War On Women

Music / The Set List • April 24, 2026

It feels like a lifetime ago when Mitt Romney referenced a "war on women" during the 2012 presidential cycle. A … Read more

The Arrivals

Interviews • April 12, 2026

The Arrivals have been a band for 30 years -- though they’ve made us wait 16 years for the follow-up … Read more

The Gits

Interviews • April 11, 2026

Almost three decades after their original run, The Gits remain a vital part of Seattle’s punk rock history. Their raw … Read more

Latest album reviews browse all

Burned Up Bled Dry

Next Stop… Dead Stop…
Prank (2026)

There’s no easing into Next Stop… Dead Stop… No buildup, no warning just impact. Fayetteville, Arkansas’ Burned Up Bled Dry return from decades of dormancy with a debut full-length that feels less like a comeback and more like a long-awaited detonation. Formed in 1996 and tied to that gnarlier mid-south hardcore lineage alongside bands like His Hero Is Gone and … Read more

Blue Ash

Dinner At Mr. Billy’s
Peppermint Records (2026)

Most people treat the Blue Ash story like a collection of "almosts" and they are sure missing the point.Almost famous, almost signed, almost the American Beatles. Forget that, erase that fable from your feeble grey matter. Dinner at Mr. Billy’s—straight from the Peppermint Productions vaults—proves they weren't just "lost" contenders. They were the engine room of the Rust Belt. While … Read more

Luxury Teeth

DCxPC Live & Dead, Vol. 3
DCxPC Live (2024)

There’s something inherently appealing about a record that doesn’t try to hide what a band actually sounds like. DCxPC Live & Dead, Vol. 3 captures Luxury Teeth in two very different settings and more importantly, shows that neither version feels like a compromise. Side A, the “Live” portion, was recorded at the Ottobar in Baltimore while opening for GBH, and … Read more

The Heads

Yourprettyplaceisgoingtohell
Independent (2026)

This record is a sprawling, smoke-covered, raging slab of feedback. After decades of lurking in the Bristol shadows, The Heads haven’t just returned with Yourprettyplaceisgoingtohell; they’ve brought the sound of the walls closing in as fingernails scratch at brick. It’s a dense, suffocating, and majestic mess of a record—a jagged middle finger to the sanitized, algorithm-friendly "psych" scene. I like … Read more

Additional album reviews

Lethal Limits

Elevate EP
GhettoBlaster Productions (2025)

The archival hunt for the "missing links" of first-wave California punk usually leads through a trail of grainy handbill Xeroxes and tape traders' overdubbed copies. But with The Flyboys, the … Read more

The S.E.T.

Self Evident Truth
Flatspot Records (2026)

Hardcore doesn’t need reinventing; just needs conviction. On Self Evident Truth, Baltimore’s The S.E.T. come out swinging with a debut EP that’s built on exactly that. It’s got groove, urgency, … Read more

Dashed

Self Titled
Independent (2026)

When a band describes themselves as surf punk, it usually conjures a certain image. Reverb drenched guitars, sunburnt melodies, maybe even a sense of looseness that leans more carefree than … Read more

The Sleeveens

National Anthem
Goner (2026)

National Anthem is the second album from The Sleeveens, a Nashville, TN band fronted by an Irishman. The band play that perfect mix of protopunk and classic rock 'n' roll … Read more

The Flyboys

Complete Flyboys 1979-1980
Frontiers Records (2026)

The archival hunt for the "missing links" of first-wave California punk usually leads through a trail of grainy handbill Xeroxes and tape traders' overdubbed copies. But with The Flyboys, the … Read more

Ultrabomb

The Bridges That We Burn
DC-Jam Records, Virgin (2026)

Ultrabomb just detonated. The Bridges That We Burn isn't some polite "heritage act" victory lap. It smells like a hand-rolled cigarette lit with a blowtorch in a damp Minneapolis alleyway. … Read more

Sweat

Tear it on Down
Vitriol (2026)

Tear It On Down is the third record from Sweat and it picks up where the last two left off. It's aggressive hardcore punk, but with a playful groove or … Read more

Latchkey Kids

Years Of Summers
Pathetic Pinky Party (2026)

Growing up is rarely cinematic in real time but when you look back, it can feel mythic. On Year Of Summers, New Jersey’s Latchkey Kids frame heartbreak, identity, and grief … Read more

News headlines browse all

SPB featured stream: Drakulas - Midnight City

Posted in Records on April 30, 2026

It's our pleasure to share Midnight City, the third album from Austin, TX based Drakulas. The band features members of some well-known bands, namely Riverboat Gamblers and Rise Against, but this project takes a new turn with protopunk meets early new wave that describes a dark underbelly of a world … Read more

Public Opinion Have a Curse to Share

Posted in Bands on May 4, 2026

Public Opinion have announced their new album, The Curse of Public Opinion -- Available August 7th via SideOneDummy. You can check out their new track, "Balloon Man Running" below: Read … Read more

Taking Thrice Back Saves the Sunday

Posted in Tours on May 4, 2026

Taking Back Sunday will be embarking on a full US Tour this Summer-Fall with special guests Thrice and Saves the Day. Beginning in Nashville, TN on September 19th, the tour … Read more

Andy Blade EP co-written by Brian James

Posted in Records on May 3, 2026

Andy Blade (Eater) has released a new EP of songs co-written with Brian James (The Damned), a 3-song collection called Ain't That A Shame, out April 24 on Antenna Records … Read more

Middle-Aged Queers play other artists' greatest hits

Posted in Records on May 3, 2026

As the band mentioned at the end of 2025, Middle-Aged Queers is back with a covers album, Greatest Hits, a collection of punked-up versions of songs that originally span a … Read more

It's A Setup on May 8

Posted in Records on May 3, 2026

Powerviolence band It's A Setup, form Spokane, WA, has a self-titled 7" out this month -- coming May 8 via Two Two One Press. Formed in 2024, the 7" is … Read more

One last dance with d.b.s.

Posted in Records on May 3, 2026

Vancouver's d.b.s hsa a new live album out June 26, One Last Chance For A Bad Dance - Live at Seylynn Hall. The release comes 25 years after the band's … Read more

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