Under Way is a two track EP from the duo Lore City who are, Laura Mariposa Williams and Eric Angelo Bessel, currently based in Portland, Oregon. Released in October 2022 it is 11 minutes and 17 seconds of dreamy, experimental, gothic, psychedelia that will have you reaching for the play button again as soon as it's over. I'm not one … Read more
I still remember when Lorn released their debut full-length, Towards the Abyss of Disease, where their raw and unapologetic black metal blew me away. Their sound was well structured, and even though it was not diverging from the core of the genre, they achieved in building a distinct sound, within the traditional boundaries. Unfortunately, releases have been quite sparse for … Read more
Prolific Peruvian horrorpunk ghouls Los Morts released this 4 track EP, Slasher on the most sacred of horrorpunk holidays... halloween! The 31st of October is the day that many horrorpunk bands look to release material but the year that Los Mort do not, will always make halloween that little bit emptier so all praise to zombie Jesus that Los Morts … Read more
When it comes to horrorpunk I am rather conservative. I usually appreciate bands more if they stay close to the template the Misfits created. My favorite bands in the genre took that template and made it their own, but stayed close to the original. This requires great skill: don’t stray to far from the path to loose me, but also … Read more
Loser Life comes from a place called Bakersfield, California, an area the band has numerously described as "the armpit of California." This is what Loser Life is influenced by, and the band's sound makes their pleasant description seem all too realistic. Loser Life is dirty, grimy, filthy, and fucking pissed off at their little hole in the world, and the … Read more
Loss Of Self first garnered attention following the release of their eponymous 2012 demo. With much acclaim following their unique take on the modern trend of positive sounding black metal, it was no surprise that genre label The Flenser saw potential in the lo-fi three-track effort. Now, with Twelve Minutes, the Melbourne-based outfit have set out a record that doesn’t … Read more
By now it feels like hitting repeat, but for the uninitiated, Lost Balloons has to be introduced through the Marked Men timeline. The beloved Texas garage-punk band went on hiatus sometime back, when member Jeff Burke relocated to Japan. He’s since returned to the US and plays sporadically with Marked Men, as well as Radioactivity and other projects. But, while … Read more
Lostprophets: a rock critic's dream? If it's not the glossy pop production and so-hook-laden-you-could-fish-with-them songs, we can go the other way and ridicule their male model good looks, painstakingly straightened haircuts and clothing deals, and apparent desire to appear American to unknowing fans. Of course, here at Scene Point Blank we're above such polarities, opting for the neutral middle ground. … Read more
After releasing their debut, The Fake Sound of Progress, Lostprophets have returned with their second album for Columbia Records. On their first effort the band combined the versatility of Faith No More and the radio-appeal of Incubus with the charm of their countrymen Duran Duran. On their new full-length, Start Something, the band works to avoid a sophomore-slump by jazzing … Read more
Deep inside Belgium lies Lotus, the Powerbar of Antwerp hardcore. In early December Lotus released their particular blend of pessimistic optimism, paradoxically digestible yet equally unsettling. Steering modern hardcore trends away from cheap nihilism, The Road to Calvary bites down a vicious chunk of hardcore spirit that raises my pulse, burning the excess fat that clogs my record shelf.Within Lotus’s … Read more
You know, I’ve never knowingly listened to Miley Cyrus, but I’m pretty sure this record is named tongue-in-cheek and doesn’t include a cover. Full disclosure, I looked up her “Party in the USA” song a couple hours after my first draft of this review. I wish I hadn’t, though it was certainly a learning experience about different lifestyles.For some reason … Read more
Before I get started I’m going to dish out a rare complement. Loud Boyz have a good, fitting name. Even the record title, Tough Love, Hard Feelings is apt of their sound: rough, distant, yet with a clear emotional connection. Sure, the record cover is…let’s say odd, and I kind of hate the whole “z” in place of “s” thing, … Read more
Loud Love is a Belgian five piece that released their debut EP on White Russian Records. Everyone in this record has past experience in other bands and you can hear that. If only because this sounds really tight and professional. Loud Love plays the kind of hardcore that reminds me of the melodic hardcore that Reflections Records released in the … Read more
What you get with Love Collector is pretty straightforward. Only a few seconds into "My Baby Goes Waaah!," the titular track on this 7", it's clear that this is a band that plays punk-fused garage rock, with lots of guitar, a few pedals, and lots of attitude hovering around the two-minute-per song mark. It's also the kind of rock where … Read more
I don’t come across a lot of punk bands with “love” in their name. Whether it’s justified or not, that led me to expect something a bit more dramatic and heart-on-sleeve than this. The music is more post-hardcore meets melodic punk, a la Hot Water Music meets Iron Chic. It’s built around singalong, harmonized choruses with some build-up and progressions … Read more
Love, Hope and Fear are not what they used to be. And I mean that literally as well as musically. Their latest release, the four-song Fate's Frowned on Us, is the band's third official release in the band's five year (give or take) career. However, it is their second release since the revival of the lineup. Love, Hope And Fear … Read more
Sitting down with Glinter forces me to ask why loveliescrushing is not more of a go to “band” for my listening habits given the theoretical confluence of sounds that people ascribe to this long running creative duo, but then it just hits me, loveliescrushing has just never hit me at the right time or been fortuitous before with the timing … Read more
Low are known as pioneers of the slow-core genre, or what I like to call "intense sleepy-time music." They reached their noisiest peak in the winter of 2005 with The Great Destroyer, an album that boomed with huge percussion and the most distortion they had ever put on guitar. Pushing their sound to such a loud extreme must have tired … Read more
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