Loren

The Darts have a busy year ahead. First, they will release the brand new full-length Halloween Love Songs on March 3 (Meow Hiss Music). Then the band hits the road – France in March-April, then much of the US in May-June. They are also booking dates in the EUK, Australia, and New Zealand as we speak. With the band prepping … Read more

Noise Real Records recently released Noise Pollution Volume 1, a limited run 7" that features two new versions of "The Recluse" by Cursive. The new series will continue this revision theme as we move forward. Founded in 2021 by two long-time friends from California's Central Valley, the label is focused on quality over quantity: curating a catalog that's focused on … Read more

For many years now, Scene Point Blank has taken the opportunity as the year ends to formally "pass the mic" to our friends on the other side of the mostly-imaginary divide between listeners and artists. This year is no exception as we ask a bunch of bands, artists and labels to tell us about their 2025. What music did they … Read more

Pure Joy The 23rd FEST in Gainesville, Florida recently wrapped up. Scene Point Blank has been to the majority of them over the past two decades, beginning at FEST 5. I've personally attended roughly half of them. And at FEST 23, I saw 44 bands in 3 days (an even 50 if you count the pre-shows I attended). I took … 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

The Menzingers shared "Nobody's Heroes" this week -- the first new music from the band since their Some Of It Was True album (2023) “We started writing Nobody’s Heroes for Tom [May], who was going through a divorce at the time,” vocalist/guitarist Greg Barnett says in a press release from … Read more

The Crosses, a new hardcore band from Milwaukee, has announced their debut EP, Outlier. The EP comes out on April 17 and fuses noise-rock and hardcore in a cacaphonous, loud presentation with a punch. The band includes Daniel Kubinski (ex-Die Kreuzen), Jim Potter (Dr. Shrinker), Christopher Ortiz (Magnetic Minds / … Read more

A new old school-tinged band called Birdlegs just announced their debut, The band is comprised of Jade Puget (AFI), Gary Gutfeld (Corduroy, Hi-Fives), and Eric Ozenne (The Nerve Agents, Unit Pride) -- all of whom played in Redemption 87 in the late 1990s -- plus Ryan Doria (Overexposure, Pressure Cracks). … Read more

Dealbreaker, who recently announced a Canadian tour with Pro Wrestling, has also now shared news of their debut full-length album, New Sides, out April 3 via 2026 on Toll Free Records (CA) and and Late Again Records (US). The Welland, ON based band shared two singles earlier this week, "Plan … Read more