Loren

There are a lot of misconceptions about the life of a musician. Most musicians have day jobs – and not just to pay the bills. Jobs provide new challenges, personal fulfillment and, yes, some rent or gas money. How an artist spends their time by day will influence the creative process at night. In Don’t Quit Your Day Job, Scene … Read more

There are a lot of misconceptions about the life of a musician. Most musicians have day jobs – and not just to pay the bills. Jobs provide new challenges, personal fulfillment and, yes, some rent or gas money. How an artist spends their time by day will influence the creative process at night. In Don’t Quit Your Day Job, Scene … Read more

Here in Scene Point Blank Land, I sometimes get lost in the inbox of endless submissions and new music. I find things I like, but the great digital expanse still makes the records feel, well, a little too distant. Music is supposed to be personal, even if I'm not standing in the front row of a dimly lit room soaking … Read more

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 … 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

Drunk Dial Records, recently featured in SPB's "Commerce Or Amusement?" series, has a new compilation out today digitally and on cassette: Fakes – Volume Three. The collection sees real life punk bands cover fictions bands such as Sex Bob-omb and Spinal Tap. The full track listing is shared below, including … Read more

California band Chico will release their debut, a self-titled affair on New Morality Zine, out August 14. Watch a video for "Blur," one of ten new songs on the album, below. The band will also be on your with Death Lens this fall. Read more Chico Tracklist: 1. CLCC 2. … Read more

Indie rock band The Thermals shared "Spirit Collectors" today -- the first glimpse at the upcoming Under Crushing Rain, their first album in a dacade. The band last released We Disappear in 2016. "I set out to make an LP that was incredibly Thermals-like, in the same fashion in which … Read more

Swiss post-rock band hubris., who seem to lack the hubris of capitalization, has shared "Death" from their upcomign new album White Shores. "Death is the song that started it all. It was the first piece I composed after my grandfather passed away, and those opening chords became the foundation for … Read more