Pop punk act Rufio have released the tracklisting for their upcoming album Anybody Out There. The news comes a couple of days after the band announced that the follow up to their 2005 release Comfort Of Home would drop July 27th. Click here to check out the tracks!

The band has  U.S./Canadian tour dates coming up. Be sure to visit their Dying Scene shows page for dates and locations. [Read more…]

After Mark Hoppus’s announcement yesterday that he was hosting a show on Fuse TV, the Blink 182 bassist announced that new Blink 182 material is on the way. The band is currently preparing for their upcoming European tour and upon their return, they plan to record the material that they’ve been writing/will write. Mark says,

“When the European tour is finished, we head back and play ONE SHOW in Southern California. Then that is IT for live shows for the rest of 2010. When we have new Blink-182 music for you all, we will make it LOUD AND CLEAR. We’ll be screaming about it, you won’t be able to get away from us talking about it. And that moment is on the way. All of us have ideas from before and after the tour last summer, and are excited to get into the studio and see those ideas come to light. Simple as that.”

Blink’ Euro tour starts mid-August. Check their Dying Scene shows page for dates & locations!

Sundowner, the side project of Chris McCaughan of The Lawrence Arms, has released the debut track off the upcoming album We Chase the Waves. Get over to their MySpace page to listen to In the Flicker. The album comes out August 10th on Asian Man Records.

Their debut album, Four One Five Two, was released on Red Scare Records on March 13, 2007.

Montreal hardcore outfit Here Comes the Hurricane is releasing their debut full length album Charming Disaster July 6th, 2010.  To get a taste of the new album head over to their MySpace page and listen to I’m Captain of This Ship Called Misery.

You can also download the band’s two song demo EP right here.

Holy sh*t! Jim Lindberg, former lead singer of Pennywise, has unveiled his own band, The Black Pacific. The band is headquartered in Huntington Beach, California and has posted a song called “The System” on their MySpace and their official website. And it’s f’ing good! No further information about this project has been revealed, but according to their MySpace page they are currently signed to SideOneDummy Records and appear to be in the midst of recording an album or EP.

Until last year, Lindberg had been Pennywise’s lead vocalist and major songwriting contributor since their inception in 1988, recording and releasing nine studio albums with the band. The most recent was 2008’s free release on MySpace Records, Reason to Believe. Zoli Teglas (Ignite) is now their new singer.

Indiana’s melodic punk outfit, Yells Fire In A Crowded Theater, are currently working on a new full-length album which they claim “will be out shortly”.  Not exactly a lot of info there, I know, but I’m really digging these guys so I wanted to write something anyway.  They sort of remind me of a more technical, juiced up version of Smoking Popes.  Anybody feelin’ me there?

The band recently released a split with Japan punks Not So Young.

Glory Bound are streaming 2 brand new recordings (This Too Will Fade and Life Is So Much Better With A .50 Caliber) on their MySpace page.  No official word on if these tracks mean a forthcoming new album but we’ll keep you posted.

The band’s most recent, self-titled album was released on Death To False Hopes Records.  The 8 tracks are all available for free download on the label’s official website (donations accepted).

The band is recommended for fans of older Against Me!, Lawrence Arms and Nothington.



**The Album Reviews published on Dying Scene are written and submitted by regular users of the site. These users are not professional music critics nor are they paid for what they write. If you disagree with an album’s rating, feel free to voice your opinion and give it your own rating in the comments. If you’d like to submit your own review do it here.

This release from Local Resident Failure caught my attention with its provocative title Crack Is The New Black, and its inference to a similarly titled record, Stack Is The New Black, by a band called Short Stack.  (For those with no knowledge of the musical abomination that is Short Stack, here’s the skinny. The teen pop-sensation is the concoction of an unrelenting marketing machine.  The result is sub-par pop songs which are shockingly popular amongst easily influenced teenage girls.  It has since been settled that the amount of hairspray the trio uses to maintain their shit-pop-indie-hairdo chic doubles the size of the hole in the ozone layer with each of their gigs).

Enough of the bad, back to the good stuff.  Local Resident Failure wears the influences of ‘90s skater punk bands on their sleeves.  The four gents from Newcastle got together in 2007 thanks to their collective appreciation of these punk bands.  Crack Is The New Black is the third EP (excluding a live release) from the gents and is the precursor to an album for which recording is expected to begin during October 2010.

Opener, Human Rights…And Wrongs, is the longest track and one of the band’s most convoluted pieces to date.  The lyrical intent of the song is clearly evident in the title.  At no point does it directly attack a particular social or political issue, it simply makes evident that there are problems within society that need to be addressed. It’s logically constructed with perfectly positioned vocal cannons, guitar breakdowns and even packs in a short yet effective drum solo.

Track number two is a cover of the 1988 hit by John Farnham, Two Strong Hearts. Farnham is a ‘80s cheesy Australian pop heart-throb and that is all you need to know about that.  The LRF profanity-laced, comedic version of this love ballad forces the tempo, adds the LRF skate punk flavor and may be the closest the band will ever get to a genuine love song.  Unlike Farnham, it probably won’t score them any ladies but you’ve got to give them a ten for effort.

The final song poses the question, What’s the Alternative to the Alternative? It specifically attacks the commercialization and subsequent barstardization of ‘alternative’ music by corporate mainstream media.  It even manages to suck up to Australia’s largest alternative radio station.  It’s the slowest track on the release but still packs the punch and energy of previous songs.  While in its construction, it is consciously filled with every punk cliché known to man, in their placements, it is well executed and avoids being corny.

With only three tracks, the EP clocks in at just over eight minutes, which (per track) makes it one of their longest releases.  Surprisingly, it is also their first release that doesn’t explicitly mention beer.  Crack Is The New Black is technically more refined and well constructed while still maintaining the blithe nature and complete smart arse attitude that made their previous efforts appealing.

In true DIY fashion, Crack Is The New Black, was self-released in April and is available for purchase now on iTunes.  The band has their previous EPs, including a live EP, available for free download on their MySpace page.  If the album is only half as hilarious as the sampler, it’ll be well worth the wait.

Below are a couple albums that hit stores today. Listen to a few of their tracks – if you like what you hear support the bands and go buy an album.

Grave Maker: Ghosts Among Men (Victory)

Listen to an album track on the band’s MySpace.
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Hate Your Guts: Bastard’s Disease (Eulogy)

Listen to an album track on the band’s MySpace.
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Pierce The Veil: Selfish Machines (Wind Up)

Stream the entire album on the band’s MySpace.
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Real McKenzies: Shine Not Burn (Fat Wreck Chords)

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VersaEmerge: Fixed At Zero (Fueled By Ramen)

Listen to the entire album on the band’s MySpace.
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New York City hardcore legends Madball are set to release their Good Fight Music debut this fall, entitled Empire. The record is tentatively set for release in late September or early October of 2010. “Empire will play off of the name,” points vocalist Freddy Cricien. “MADBALL has come a long way from being street kids to becoming very established in our genre, and even beyond the music. We’re finally at a point in our life where we’re taking control of our things, where as before we didn’t have control of some things or didn’t choose to have control. We have the feeling that we’ve built a little empire for ourselves with our band, brand, and different endeavors.”

The band is currently finishing the writing process, and will enter Mana Recording Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida to record in July.  According to the press release, fans of Madball should expect the sound that they have always loved, but some evolution as well. “There’s a certain sound that we’re known for, and as much as we want to evolve with the times, we also have to keep in mind that there’s a certain standard and integrity with Madball, and we have to preserve that,” mentions Cricien. “Real deal hardcore kids totally appreciate that. That said, the foundation always has to be a certain sound, but we always bring new elements into our sound. There has to be some evolution. It might appeal to people outside of the hardcore realm, but in the end, it’s going to be a Madball record.”