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Red Rockers

Interviews • September 20, 2026

By 1981, the Red Rockers were famously branded "The American Clash" by Lester Bangs -- a tag that carried both the weight of massive expectations and the raw power of a band exploding out of the New Orleans humidity. Decades before they became MTV fixtures with the polished pop hooks of "China," they were fueled by the absolute grit of the underground West Coast punk scene and the mentorship of 415 Records' Howie Klein. The missing puzzle piece of that legendary trajectory has always been the feral energy of their live sets. Enter It's in Our Blood: Live at Tipitina's, the new archival release from Liberation Hall Records. Capturing the band's blistering 2023 reunion show, the album serves as the definitive companion piece to the newly recovered and remastered Condition Red master tapes, delivering a dry, natural, effect-free gut punch that strips away the over-processed gloss of the 1980s. Scene Point Blank sat down with Red Rockers bassist Darren Hill to dig into the forensic history of the band, from signing a record contract on Keith Morris' back to recovering lost two" masters from an estate sale and setting the record straight on their legacy. Scene Point Blank: How influential were The Normals to the Red Rockers in those early days? Darren Hill: Huge influence. John, James, and I would go see them every time they played. Because of them, we decided to start a band. Our first show was opening for them. We covered “Almost Ready” at the 2023 … Read more

Shrapnel Pop #1

Regular Columns / Shrapnel Pop • September 19, 2026

I was about 4 years old and in preschool. It was a “meet and greet” day and my dad took … Read more

Vivabeat

Interviews • September 6, 2026

LA’s Art-Punk Pioneers Who Bridged Continents and Genres In 1978, Vivabeat emerged from Los Angeles with a sound that defied … Read more

Lethal Limits

Music Therapy

Interviews / Don't Quit Your Day Job • September 5, 2026

There are a lot of misconceptions about the life of a musician. Most musicians have day jobs – and not … Read more

Latest album reviews — browse all

Sweeping Promises

You Say I Romanticize
Sub Pop (2026)

What strikes me foremost about this record are the vocals. As the father of a 13 y.o. daughter I feel qualified to say that this person could be a pop singer. I mean I don’t really know what it takes to be one, although I’m sure that it’s more than a voice good enough to win a game show, I’ve … Read more

Moonraker

Me and the Bells
Punkerton Records (2026)

I have probably talked about this before, I knew of Moonraker through split EPs and things like that, but they didn't fully pop into my consciousness until The Forest. Me and the Bells, four years later, is their follow-up full-length and it continues the trajectory from that record while still capturing its own distinct vibe. Musically the band is heavily … Read more

Dreamwell

Hymns for the Denial of God
Prosthetic (2026)

Some records make their intentions obvious from the very beginning. They use the same structure that countless bands have for decades: verse, chorus, breakdown, payoff, and the blunt force of explaining what you are supposed to feel. Hymns for the Denial of God does something much more complex. It’s a series of difficult questions no one wants to answer, proposed … Read more

Wine Lips

TV Dinner
Stomp Records (2026)

ALBUM HIGHLIGHTS – “Leech”, “Semi Detached Furnished Home”, “Strip Club DJ”, “Static On The Radio” Toronto’s garage-psych punks Wine Lips bring us album number five. Aside from the awesomely colourful, off-the-wall humanoid artwork, TV Dinner takes a sharp turn from the sonically trippy toppings of previous entries – particularly 2024’s Mushroom Death Sex Bummer Party. Tracks are punchy fuzz-bombs, as … Read more

Additional album reviews

Psycho Beets

Horrendum
Trash Wax, White Riot Records (2026)

ALBUM HIGHLIGHTS – “Mam w sobie diabła”, “Zombie”, “Listopadowa noc”, “Porque te vas” Fancy some Polish psychobilly punk? Well, you’re in luck. This is for anyone who takes their classic … Read more

Manicdotes

Eight Lives Down
Independent (2026)

The chemicals are rushing right out of the gate on this one. You start with a cigarette and dive straight into Diphenhydramine (Benadryl, to the lay person) to calm your … Read more

Maruja

Pain to Power
Music For Nations (2025)

ALBUM HIGHLIGHTS – “Look Down on Us”, “Born to Die”, “Break the Tension”, “Trenches” Ahead of their 100 Club appearance this September, Maruja’s latest release, 2025’s debut album Pain to … Read more

Onelinedrawing

RAINBOWMACHINE
Iodine (2026)

I grew up listening to the acoustic side of onelinedrawing. Those stripped-down Jonah Matranga songs had a way of making everything else disappear, often needing little more than a guitar, … Read more

Professor and the Madman

Dreamworld
FullerTone Records (2026)

ALBUM HIGHLIGHTS – “Brand New World”, “12 Strings and Tambourines”, “Adams Street”, “Temple of Madness” It’s rare to find these days. A band (or maybe supergroup, in this case) that … Read more

Chat Pile

Who Loves The Sun
Flenser (2026)

If Chat Pile were a film, they would be a dark thriller. The kind that builds tension until the end and, once we reach the third act, still might not … Read more

Generacion Suicida

Hombre Nuevo
Vitriol (2026)

On the tail end of Autogramm’s 2018 tour of Mexico (what little I remember of that week now is a lot of pulque and not a lot of sleep) I … Read more

Karen Dió

Fugaz
Hopeless (2026)

Six songs. That's all Karen Dió needs on this EP. Considering the title translates roughly to fleeting, brief, or transient in Portuguese, maybe that's exactly the point. Dió's second EP … Read more

News headlines — browse all

SPB featured stream: MEGAFAUNA

Posted in Records on September 25, 2026

Syrup Moose Records will cease at the end of 2026, but they’re going out with a series of late releases including the third album from MEGAFAUNA, a self-titled follow-up to 2025’s I Owe This Land A Body. It also keeps the project’s streak of a record per year intact, as … Read more

Defiance (Youth Avoiders) in the USA

Posted in Records on October 10, 2026

New label Bottom Six Records has announced a respress of Youth Avoiders' Defiance album in the US. It's the third full-length from the French band and was released earlier this … Read more

Hearts Apart on moving on

Posted in Records on October 10, 2026

Hearts Apart will release a new album called Xanax, Dramas & Rock'n'Roll, out Nov. 20 on Epidemic Records. The first single is “(Not) So Easy," a song about moving on … Read more

Baby Wave signs to a label

Posted in Labels on October 10, 2026

Everyone else is doing the clickbait headlines, so why not join the party 10 years too late? Anyhoo, Saddle Creek just announced that Baby Wave, of Nashville, TN, has joined … Read more

In Miniature with The Darién Gap

Posted in Records on October 10, 2026

California indie-punk duo The Darién Gap has shared "Slow Cooker," the first single form a new EP. The band last released Launted Lots back in 2023. The Darién Gap is … Read more

New World Man and the diabolical man/machine

Posted in Records on October 10, 2026

Closed Casket Activities is prepping for the Oct. 23 release date of I Am The Machine, the first LP from New World Man. I Am The Machine is a concept … Read more

"Fun Night" with The Brickabrats

Posted in Bands on October 10, 2026

Portland, OR pop punk band The Brickabrats just shared the single "Fun Night," a statement song in advance of the band's upcoming debut EP next year, a four-song EP called … Read more

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