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Retirement

Bike Shop

Interviews / Don't Quit Your Day Job • March 23, 2025

How an artist spends their time by day will influence the creative process at night. In Don’t Quit Your Day Job, Scene Point Blank looks at how musicians split their time, and how their careers influence their music (or how their music provides escape). In this edition, we chat with Kevin Purcell (guitar/vocals) of Retirement about running Portland bike shop Golden Pliers and how that world intersects with his outlet. Retirement will release Attention Economy this spring (Iron Lung Records) and will tour along the North American west coast (dates below). Scene Point Blank: First, what is your job title? Walk us through an "average day," if such a thing exists. Kevin Purcell: Co-Owner/Lead Mechanic An average day at Golden Pliers consists of checking folks in for any repair needs, listening to the customer's concerns and assessing their bicycle for the repair at hand, and making suggestions (if needed) for any additional work. I answer emails, order items for our inventory or for custom builds, field questions and concerns from our staff, research new vendors, and do a lot of front-facing customer service stuff like fixing flats or helping someone pick out the right lock or lights for their bike. Scene Point Blank: You mostly do repair, right? Then sell a few bikes and have an in-house drink counter? Kevin Purcell: Yes, we mostly do bicycle repair, but we are also known for our custom bike builds and stocking a variety of fun/non-traditional bike shop stuff like knives, slingshots, used … Read more

Sumu

Individual Coach

Interviews / Don't Quit Your Day Job • February 28, 2025

There are a lot of misconceptions about the life of a musician. Most musicians have day jobs – and not … Read more

Peter Jesperson

Interviews • February 28, 2025

There is perhaps no bigger music fan than Peter Jesperson. His passion for music translated to jumping feet first and … Read more

Channel 3's Mike Magrann

Interviews • February 28, 2025

What's not to love about driving across North American highways in a well-used van, drinking copious amounts of beer, blaring … Read more

Latest album reviews — browse all

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

Nightfreak

Nightfreak
Big Neck Records (2024)

Semi-feral punk outfit NightFreak are back with a self-titled LP filled with breakneck riffs and 70s metal bombast. The Chicago group haven’t slowed down since 2022’s Speed Trials but they have filled out. NightFreak the album is lousy with warm back beats and melodic guitars; although, hardcore vocals and tight drums still reign supreme. Album opener “Blackout” is dead serious … Read more

Death By Unga Bunga

Raw Muscle Power
Jansen Records (2025)

I’m pretty sure I became aware of Mike Krol when The Whiffs posted about playing some shows with him. Krol is a bit of an anomaly. Not only is he on Merge and collaborates with Mac Superchunk- a dream scenario imo- but he’s also been elusive of my fan boy attempts at cold dm’ing him about stuff even tho we … Read more

Celebration Summer

A Little Less Numb
Den of Wax (2024)

200 Words Or Less

I get a lot of music here at SPB and, unfortunately, my memory isn’t perfect. But I consider it a good sign when my first thought on hearing a new release is that, “Hey, I need to go back and relisten to the last one again.” It’s not a slight about the old stuff at all, but it means they’ve … Read more

Additional album reviews

Gus Baldwin & The Sketch

The Sketch
Permanent Teeth (2025)

When The Sketch opens, I find myself quickly thinking of “Got The Time” by Joe Jackson. For the most part, that comparison fades by the time the power chords kick … Read more

Chat Pile

Cool World
Flenser (2024)

The great American experiment has a wide range of experiences, but it tends to focus on the coasts. There are countless dystopian pieces of art, often culling from a Warriors-esque … Read more

The Anomalys

Down The Hole
Slovenly (2024)

If I have to give the elevator pitch, I’ll call The Anomalys garage rock with an ear for surf and psyche rock -- turned up to 11 and blasted through … Read more

Pinhead Gunpowder

Unt
1-2-3-4 Go! Records (2024)

Pinhead Gunpowder began in 1990, recording a 7” in 1991. The band last released a 7” in 2008… Until late 2024 when the band returned with the 14-song full-length Unt. … Read more

The Cure

Songs of a Lost World
Capitol, Fiction, Lost Music, Polydor/Universal (2024)

It's been sixteen years since The Cure released their last album. I don't know if anyone really knew what to expect, but it's one of the most influential bands in … Read more

City Mouse

So Far Out
Brassneck Records, It's Alive (2024)

There are few bands that hit with the mix of raw emotion and musical talent as a live City Mouse show. There are even fewer bands that can capture that … Read more

Machine Girl

MG Ultra
Future Classic (2024)

Ideally, I would be a bit more interested in art. In visual art- paintings, sketches, MS Paint monstrosities- whatever. I wish I knew more about the meaning of a brush … Read more

Ekko Astral

pink balloons
Topshelf (2024)

Their music is for people “who are struggling, who are at their absolute lowest". That’s a quote from vocalist and guitar player Jael Holzman talking to The Washington Post. Am … Read more

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SPB stream: Righteous Propaganda/Mycelium Cloak

Posted in Records on April 1, 2025

Just released in February, SPB’s featured stream for the month of March is a fierce and heavy split LP between Illinois bands Righteous Propaganda and Mycelium Cloak, out now -- released jointly by the two bands. Righteous Propaganda formed in 2016 in DeKalb and play brutal hardcore befitting of their … Read more

7Seconds' New Wind / Change In My Head

Posted in Records on April 6, 2025

Trust Records has announced a reimagining of New Wind, originally released by 7Seconds in 1986. The new take is retitled as Change in My Head, reimagined by Ian MacKaye (who … Read more

The Peawees "Don't Look Back" as they head to US

Posted in Tours on April 6, 2025

The Peawees are heading to the USA, with the Italian garage rock band booked for a run of late April dates in the central and eastern US. The band recently … Read more

Exile On Mainstream USA

Posted in Labels on April 6, 2025

German label Exile On Mainstream Records has launches a new US based webstore for fans in North America to shop at, hosted by A Thousand Arms. Founded in 1999, the … Read more

"Loose Thoughts" from Skeetch

Posted in Labels on April 6, 2025

Punkerton Records just added Leipzig, Germany based band Skeetch to their roster, a '90s skatepunk influenced Formed in 2021, the band has three previous EPs, and the brand new single … Read more

The Hives have a new album

Posted in Records on April 5, 2025

Swedish rock band The Hives are back, announcing Forever Forever The Hives, out August 29 via Play It Again Sam. The neww LP was recorded with producers Pelle Gunnerfeldt and … Read more

A third Cash Bribe

Posted in Records on April 5, 2025

New York based hardcore band Cash Bribe just shared a new single, "Death Tax," as a teaser from their June 13 scheduled new EP, Demonomics, out via Futureless. The first … Read more

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