Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start
And Nothing Is #1
Ohev (2003)
The minute someone seriously suggested this name for the band, I'd have to show him the door. The name is not clever, loses it's novelty factor quickly to where it just gets annoying, and doesn't fit this band AT ALL. I was fully expecting a keyboard fronted band with some snotty vocalist. Instead what I was exposed to was a … Read more
UpCDownC
Calaveras
Field (2011)
At the rate I'm going, I'm going to seriously depreciate the value of the phrase "like Mogwai, only better." Then again, it's not exactly my fault that it's such an easy status to obtain (*zing*). The latest band to fall under this label, Kent-based post-rockers up-c down-c left-c right-c abc + start (thank god they're now going by simply UpCDownC), … Read more
Uranium Club
Infants Under The Bulb
Anti Fade Records, Static Shock Records (2024)
Do you take your punk with saxophone? Do you like post-angular guitars and rhythmic, near-spoken vocals? If so, Uranium Club is probably right for you. Apparently they call this egg punk nowadays. I would have called it art-punk. It definitely runs in the left-of-the-dial, DIY punk world, but has that glasses-wearing, proud-of-your-weirdness element that makes it hard to pin down … Read more
Urgehal
Goatcraft Torment
Southern Lord (2006)
God bless Southern Lord Records. For many years the label has been the last bastion for all things sludgey and doomish. But as some of the latest releases to come out of their gate prove, they're going back to the Black with a monster roster that sets a beautifully dark tone for the future of the label. Urgehal is one … Read more
Urgent Care
Fast Medicine
Healthcore Records (2023)
Doctor, Doctor give me the news…. Some of you might pretend you don’t have a winking brown starfish on the bottom of your nether region but Urgent Care is here to tell you that Colonoscopies can save your life. Get your pack of Pico-Salax and let the chocolate fountain bubble and flow. The colonoscope is a thin catheter with a … Read more
Utarm
Apocryphal Stories
Handmade Birds (2012)
What do you do with a record that you just cannot place, and how do you express what you think about such an album when words escape you? This is the dilemma before me as I listen to Apocryphal Stories from Utarm for about the tenth time because I just am at a loss as to what is actually going … Read more
Vaaska
Todos Contra Todos
Beach Impediment (2015)
I've been meaning to check out this Austin, TX-based band for quite some time now (they’ve been active since 2009) but for whatever reason I’ve never gotten around to it. So much punk, so little time I guess. They have released a string of EPs and splits up until this point, but this record is their first official LP. It … Read more
Vacation
Candy Waves
Don Giovanni (2013)
Here at Scene Point Blank we don’t give titles to our work. If I titled my Vacation review, though, it would be named after track ten: “Feedback Got Me High.” Vacation are a punk band but, you know, so were Nirvana (at least on a basic level). The point is this: there’s a lot you can do with those power … Read more
Vacation
Existential Risks & Rewards
Salinas Records (2021)
I’ve been fighting the urge to just quote John Hoffman from when I interviewed another one of his bands, The Mimes, earlier this year, because I think he described his songwriting style really well in it. Instead, you get a vague, shameless plug, though I’ll circle back after more explanation. On their latest offering, Vacation hasn’t wildly changed. Existential Risks … Read more
Vacation
Mouth Sounds #2699
Lets Pretend (2018)
For running with the DIY punk scene, Vacation are surprisingly diverse (not to mention prolific). The band’s latest is the 12-song Mouth Sounds #2699 and its 26-minute span delivers the band’s general sound of fuzzed out garage-punk bangers, but within that general sound they deliver crunchy grunge riffs, pop melodies, and flat out noisy bursts, all within a short-song framework … Read more
Vacation
Rare Earth
Feel It Records (2024)
As a generalization I’d call vacation garage-punk, but the band has just as much grunge to their sound as those other styles -- and a whole lot more too. It’s raw ‘n’ straight-forward rock ‘n’ roll in a balance that pulls from the classic structures, balancing emotion and fuzz within melodic and building structures that ebb and flow for powerful … Read more
Vacation
Self Titled
Lets Pretend (2011)
First off, forgive me if at some point I wander off and say something about Summer Vacation or Vacation Bible School, and I keep mixing these bands up in my head. Vacation is Cincinnati-based band that sometimes gets the pop-punk label, although I would argue garage-punk if I had to choose one. The band, while using pop-punk structures and a … Read more
Valina
A Tempo! A Tempo!
Joyful Noise (2009)
For a band whose hyperbolic press sheet claims they've played 75,854 shows in their eleven year history (that's only 18.88 per day by my count) you'd think I would have seen them a few times already, perhaps in my living room or local bowling alley. I have no idea how many of those shows have brought the Austrian band to … Read more
Vampire Weekend
Modern Vampires Of The City
XL Recordings (2013)
When the hoax artwork claiming the group’s next album was to be “Lemon Sounds” appeared, it is perhaps unsurprising that so many people were convinced it was real. For the band’s detractors it was confirmation that Vampire Weekend were content to rest on their laurels and produce a Contra II. For fans it meant approximately the same thing; they were … Read more
Van Halen
A Different Kind Of Truth
Interscope (2012)
Let’s get right to it. I think we can all agree that lead-off single “Tattoo” is a shitty song. And any album that has the opening lyrics of I've got Elvis on my elbow would have any sane, reasonable consumer checking online for iTunes refund policies.* But this is David Lee Roth we're talking about. The man can get away … Read more
Van Johnson
Holiday Tour EP
Independent (2004)
The first time I heard of Van Johnson, I assumed it was a porn star. Immediately when I got home from seeing Off Minor and overhearing a conversation about them, I fired up my computer. It was pornography time for me! (this is also known as "Zed Time") I whipped it out and soon after realized that disappointment was in … Read more
Vancouver / Zatokrev
Split
Get a Life! (2008)
Get a Life! Records brought together two bands on its roster to release a split recording. The twenty minute split features two tracks from each of the bands who have previously released material - Zatokrev with two full -engths; Vancouver with a split and a full length - on Get A Life! This independent label has also released material from … Read more
Vandoliers
Forever
Bloodshot (2019)
There’s a lot to like on Forever, the third album from Vandoliers. They play a hybrid country-punk that’s a bit too upbeat for No Depression and too gritty for traditional country, while pulling influence from a number of Texas musical styles along the way. It’s a six-piece group, complete with guitar, drum, and bass, but also fiddle, brass, and more. … Read more
