Depeche Mode
Playing the Angel
Reprise (2005)
I broke a fingernail tearing the shrink wrap off Playing the Angel - that's how excited I was to get into it. After the confusion caused by Exciter, and the months of consolation I indulged in with the two Singles collections, I was desperate for Martin Gore, Dave Gahan and that other guy who's name I had to look up … Read more
Derek Grant
Breakdown
Red Scare Industries (2015)
Chances are, most listeners have would heard everything on Derek Grant’s 2015 solo album Breakdown before - it seems to imitate everything from the driving road music of Jackson Browne to the ballads of Guns ‘n’ Roses while frequently capturing an alt-country vibe that might be unexpected coming from a musician undoubtedly best known for drumming in punk group Alkaline … Read more
Des Ark
Don't Rock The Boat, Sink The Fucker
Lovitt (2011)
So far, 2011 is proving to be a great year for music, and a great year for Indie-Rock. Des Ark's second full length, Don't Rock the Boat, Sink the Fucker, is surely doing its part to earn the genre's such high acclaim. It's an album that took 3 years to record, but the time spent on it paid off. Aimee … Read more
Desaparecidos
Payola
Epitaph (2015)
Desaparecidos is the Omaha emo outfit led by Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes fame. Payola is the band’s second album, and it’s been 13 years since they released their first album Read Music/Speak Spanish in 2002. Usually one of two things happens when a band releases an album after a long pause: Often it’s a huge disappointment, but sometimes it’s … Read more
Descendents
9th & Walnut
Epitaph (2021)
While I like new Descendents, their older stuff always had an intangible bite to it. The new stuff feels more sarcastic while their earlier material was pissed off underneath that playful disposition. And that’s what you get on 9th & Walnut which is billed as the band’s eighth studio album, though the timeline is more complicated than that. All 18 … Read more
Deseos Primitivos
Lineas de Muerte
Shadowplay Records (2025)
Some reviews are written after years of listening to a band and knowing nearly everything about them. Sometimes I listen to a record on repeat for weeks before I even look up the correct song titles – Deseos Primitivos (Primitive Desires) is the latter. This promo came to SPB as literally a one sentence quote about the band and its … Read more
Desoto Jones
Aurora
Deep Elm (2007)
Before I even really get into this review, I just need to let everyone out there in Scene Point Blank-land know that this album actually contains the lyric "You are speed bump in everyone's life." Not only is this line in the chorus which makes it repeated a few times, it's also the opening track under the same name. Speed … Read more
Despise
Desolate/Inebriated
Profane Existence (2013)
The second transmission of the Profane Existence Limited Edition Single Series—a subscription service that delivers seven inches of brand new vinyl to your doorstep every month—is from the latest Minneapolis-based troupe of metallic crust punkers, Despise. The band features former members of a handful of Midwestern crust acts—most notably Minneapolis legends, Destroy—and is fronted by Hannah, previously of Chicago’s Securicor … Read more
Dessa
Parts Of Speech
Doomtree (2013)
A while back, I asked a friend of mine to introduce me to some new music. I was feeling burnt out on my usual prog fare, and I desperately needed to listen to something different. She suggested I give an artist named Dessa a try, and a little while later, I was listening to her debut album A Badly Broken … Read more
Destroy Nate Allen
Awake O'Sleeper
Quiver Society (2006)
I'd like to start off this review by stating how much respect I have for Nate Allen. Just like G.G. Allin was committed to being the most sick and depraved human being he could possibly be, Allen is committed to prescribing to punk's D.I.Y. ethics and living his life by them. Using any means possible to tour and recording his … Read more
Detention
Dead Rock ‘N’ Rollers
Left For Dead Records (2024)
Life ain’t so easy in the detention home- Dead Boys. Emerging from the underbelly of Jersey, made up primarily of three brethren. Raised on rock and roll and sipping from the chalice of early punk rock stalwarts like Da Bruddahs from Queens, Hey Ho! and the Pistoleros of Sexual Nature screaming banshees from across from the large pond. Thus forging … Read more
Dethklok
The Dethalbum
Williams Street (2007)
Metal, or all rock and roll for that matter, exists due to two necessary components: lies - fantasy a more fitting title if you're into prog rock - and boisterous showmanship. This truth then makes the next statement undeniable: Dethklok is the best metal band ever! How do I figure this? Let me analyze the grounds I set in the … Read more
Detournement
Screaming Response
Chunksaah/Pirate Press (2009)
Detournement are an Eastcoast band with members from a host of familiar bands. Rather than focus on who they are, though, their music should speak for itself. The fifty-one second opener, "Focus Explosion!," makes a quick impression, with melodic hardcore that's over before you've found your seat. The lyrics aren't exactly discernible, but I know both titular words were screamed … Read more
Devendra Banhart
Rejoicing in the Hands
Young God (2004)
I work at this really cool toy store in Austin, TX called Terra Toys. No, I'm not trying to get a bunch of customers, this is just exposition. Anyways, Terra Toys is located on South Congress Ave., a street filled to the brim with stores containing all kinds of vintage clothes and furniture. Today, I was walking down to the … Read more
Devil's Brigade
Self Titled
Hellcat (2010)
Back in 2002 a song appeared on a Give ‘em the Boot comp. from a band named Devil’s Brigade. The band was a psychobilly project led by Rancid’s bassist Matt Freeman. The liner notes promised an upcoming record. Here we are in 2010 and, out of nowhere, the project has finally surfaced. While marketed as Freeman’s project, akin to the … Read more
Devin Townsend Project
Deconstruction
HevyDevy (2011)
There should have been no way to fuck this up.So imagine you've set out to write a progressive metal album, and your aim is to create a really light, jocular atmosphere while keeping the music heavy as all get out. Naturally, Devin Townsend is the number one choice for such a creation. Now imagine that you have a guest list … Read more
Devin Townsend Project
Epicloud
HevyDevy (2012)
You may never suspect it, but listening to the catalogue of Canadian musician Devin Townsend will cause you to run the gamut of extreme metal, new age, arena rock, ambient, and somehow even more. His last four albums, released under the Devin Townsend Project moniker, were supposed to be an exploration of the vastness of his artistic abilities, and they … Read more
Devin Townsend Project
Ghost
HevyDevy (2011)
So here it is, the final album in the highly awaited Devin Townsend Project tetralogy. Three other releases have led up to this album, the culmination of years and years of work! Sure, a lot of the material released up to this point has been lacklustre, but that doesn't matter! This is the finale, the topping on the cake, and … Read more
