INTERVIEW FOR WASHINGTONIAN MAGAZINE

http://www.washingtonian.com/blogarticles/Arts%20&%20Events/afterhours/11419.html

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So, the ultra-simplified version: it's badass. ---SPACE CITY ROCK

http://www.spacecityrock.com/reviews/rev-0309.shtml#points1

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Eines der lustigsten Phänomene von Diktaturen ist das
Herausretuschieren von in Ungnade gefallenen Stützen des Regimes aus
Fotos: Schwupps ist da nur noch der Schatten oder die Schuhe zu sehen,
und es ist Aufgabe von Historikern, die Vorher/nachher-Vergleiche
anzustellen.

So ähnlich verhält es sich auch bei THE POINTS aus
Washington D.C., die sich 2005 gründeten, damals noch als Trio, doch
Rebecca, die Keyboarderin, ist mittlerweile ausgestiegen, ihr Gesicht
wurde auf dem Coverfoto einfach ausgeschnitten, und im Info ist ihr
Name durchgestrichen, aus Trio wurde überall Duo gemacht – mir scheint,
das spielt jemand mit dieser Tatsache, und wer weiß, vielleicht hieß
die Dame auch Harvey ...

Doch kommen wir auf den Punkt: Die
POINTS sind ein Ergebnis lupenreinen RAMONES-Epigonentums, das alte
„One two three“-Spiel in Reinkultur, vorgetragen von zwei Jungs, die
auch MUMMIES und WIPERS und „Ghostbusters“ lieben: Geo singt und spielt
Gitarre, Cobruh trommelt und singt (und ja, hier und da hört man auch
noch etwas Keyboard, etwa bei „Never trust my heart“), und auch wenn
sich in einem Metier bewegen, in dem man schon alles zu kennen glaubt,
so muss ich doch sagen, dass sie in Sachen RAMONES-Verehrung eine der
interessantesten Bands seit langem sind.

Erschienen ist das Album übrigens auf dem Label von Justin Moyer von SUPERSYSTEM/EL GUAPO. 8 OUT OF 10 STARS---OX FANZINE

http://www.ox-fanzine.de/web/rev/64883/reviews.207.html

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Rock 'n' roll will never die because there will
always be bands like Washington D.C.'s The Points sprouting up out of
the dirt to remind us all as to why it's so damn good in its simplest,
most pure forms. I'm talking about guitar, drums, and vocals --
keyboards, optional -- with no more chords than can be counted on one
hand, and songs that rarely breach the three minute mark.

The Points' self-titled release on Mud Memory
Records offers up everything a good rock band should, and then it gets
the hell out of dodge before it outstays its welcome. The urgency of
songs like "Not Your Man" and "I Don't Know About You" explode with all
the grease-soaked aggression of teenage-dom. "It's the End" and "Never
Trust My Heart" spew broken hearts all over the sidewalk with brutal
absolution and, despite the lyrics' sadness, it's all so unabashedly
catchy.

Any garage band post 1970 is going to suffer
comparisons to both The Stooges and MC5, and The Points are no
exception. The muddled vocals, the fast chord progressions, the faint
surf rock drum beats -- it's not easy to escape, and this duo (that was
a trio at the time of the album's making) has planted their feet firmly
in that fertile garage rock soil. It's, fortunately, a farm land that
many of us constantly return to for nourishment. So long as bands like
The Points keep sprouting up those that dig will walk away happy.----INK19.COM

http://www.ink19.com/issues/january2009/musicReviews/musicP/points.html

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The Points may not score many for innovation. But in an era when bigger is often perceived as better, when any band with a laptop and some synthesizers can make huge-sounding recordings, you could argue that the D.C. trio (now a quartet) and its approach of plug in, play fast and play loud is actually innovative. Sure, buzz-saw guitars, brashness and songs about girls have been staples of punk rock since the Ramones first blitzkrieg bopped, but every once in a while a band comes along and makes that formula sound entirely fresh. The Points are that band. On its debut album the band tears through a dozen punk-rock anthems in less than half an hour, each one packed with hooks, attitude and singalong choruses. Songs like "No Girl" and "Never Gonna Trust My Heart" ooze attitude and accurately capture the chaos of the band's live performances, but are classic pop songs at their core. There's also a simple universal appeal to singer Geo White's one-liners like "I lost my head losing my mind" or "No girl's gonna rip my brain/No girl's gonna make me insane." "The Points" is a reminder of how fun and exciting rock-and-roll can be.---WASHINGTON POST DAVID MALITZ

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/29/AR2008122902047.html

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Despite living smack dab in the middle between Baltimore and Washington D.C., I have never been too knowledgeable about the local punk scene.  Although I am aware that it is still flourishing and there are plenty of great venues and bands to check out, it has been something that time has unfortunately not permitted me to check out.  However, thankfully there are labels and public relations agencies out there that let me have a taste of what my local area has to offer in recorded form.  One of the local bands I have had the opportunity to listen to recently is Washington D.C. based The Points, who may just be one of the catchiest punk acts around right now.  On their debut, self titled album (simply referred to as S/T throughout much of the Internet) The Points hit listeners with their best riffs and are sure to hook just about anyone who enjoys punk rock.

Right from the start The Points showcase some very catchy riffs that are high in energy and are sure to get people moving.  The music on S/T is often very loud and raw, but also is a reminder that sometimes punk can just be plain fun to listen to.  This is the type of addictive album that you will want to jump around to or even blare while driving down the highway without a destination in mind.  However, don't mistake this to mean that this is a poppy band or anything as The Points have that slightly buzz saw style sound guitars that are noisy yet not ear grating.  There isn't a song on the release that isn't catchy, and that really says a lot about the quality of the band's song writing.

The vocals on S/T alternate between clean singing and screaming, and both styles manage to keep plenty of intensity throughout.  The Points have ensured that their debut has that live feeling to it by not adding any fancy production tricks to the vocals, meaning that all of the rawness and subtle nuances of the singer are present on the disc.  This works very well and helps to showcase the amount of energy that a live performance from this band would likely have, which quite a few bands often have trouble pulling off.

The Points have been called Washington D.C.'s best band by The Washington Post, and though I don't know every single cult/underground act from the city I'd still be inclined to agree based on S/T.  This band has the catchy riffs and ridiculous amount of energy that any punk act needs to be successful, and if they can keep this up from album to album then listeners will ensure that they become an underground legend.  If you like punk rock this disc needs to be in your collection as it is one of the top genre releases of the year, even though we've already seen standout releases from acts such as Fucked Up.---COSMOSGAMING.COM

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One simply cannot lump Washington, D.C.'s The Points in with their three-chords-and-a-cloud-of dust compatriots. The temptation to do so is certainly there, at first blush. The influence of The Ramones certainly underpin virtually every track on S/T, their latest release, but it's the additional flourishes that make S/T a must-have, and a must-listen.

No less august a publication than the Washington Post has declared The Points to be Washington, D.C.'s best band. I'm unfamiliar with the D.C. scene, but based on the strength of what I'm hearing on S/T the Post deserves the benefit of the doubt. The Points is a trio --- guitar, keyboards, and drums, with the keyboards all but obliterated except for here and there on each track. The vocals aren't buried in the mix, but under it; the result is that the lyrics only begin to rise to the top of this loud, glorious much after repeated listening. The result is that listening to S/T for its lyrical content is like panning for gold in middle of a loud street of a dangerous slum: you can't really concentrate on what you're trying to do because of what might be coming at you. Even when you think you understand what they're singing, it's probably wrong. Accordingly there's a refrain I "She's Gotta Know" that may=2 0or not be "Eighth Avenue;" it's only after several times through "No Girl" or "I Don't Know About You" or "Lost My Head" that the titles begin to make sense. Back when records were the only medium for music, my mother, God rest her soul, would walk by my room and --- always during THE VELVET UNDERGROUND & NICO, or something like that, would ask "Is that record broken?" She would think the whole stereo system broke during S/T.

The really killer element on S/T, however, is the way things leap out from the juggernaut of sound that rolls out of each track, brandishing swords and trying to hack your head (or at least an ear) off. Cobruh's drumming is all over the place, going from single beats to inappropriate marching drum rolls and never missing time once. A great guitar solo appears and all too quickly disappears during the course of "Not Your Man." And for you musicologists, S/T connects the dots between Black Sabbath and the New York Dolls.

Listen to S/T by The Points until you're convulsing and speaking in tongues. Twelve tracks, thirty minutes; it won't take long. Highly recommended.

http://www.music-reviewer.com/December-2008/Hard-Rock-Metal-Punk/The-Points::-ST/

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When any band is as well-known for their incendiary live performances, harnessing that in-the-flesh energy on record is always going to be a struggle. Yet, with the feral enthusiasm of a '60s garage band and more year-zero melodic punk menace than you can shake a stick at, the Washington D.C. line-up have delivered a self-titled debut of catchy, adrenaline-fueled pandemonium. Frontman George "Geo" White screams, snarls and hollers to beat the band as a muddied wave of guitar fuzz, droning psych-keys and pounding surgical-precision drumming by Travis Jackson threatens to smother the singer at every spikey twist and turn of this 30-minute set. Influences are evident throughout the album with tracks such as "Don't Care Much" recalling the youthful Stooges, while opener "No Girl" and "Test me Out" reveal more than a passing acquaintanceship with the Ramones' back catalogue. Nevertheless, when listening to the Points rip through these 12 songs you get the overwhelming feeling that playing fast and furious rock 'n' roll just for the hell of it is their mission and having fun their goal. And you can't argue with that—now can you.-----POPMATTERS.COM

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/65443-the-points-the-points

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INTERVIEW FOR DCIST.COM------http://dcist.com/2008/12/05/three_stars_the_points.php

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INTERVIEW FOR THE ONION
http://aleitko.blogspot.com/2008/10/points.html

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The Points are more special than they're letting on. A young three-piece punk band (guitar, drums, keyboards instead of bass) from Fredericksburg, Va., they have released a self-titled album (Mud Memory, mudmemory.com) made to go with casual, beery, do-it-yourself loft parties. The Points' sound descends more or less from the Ramones and Hüsker Dü, but they're not quite as polished as either; what they've got is certainty, and the confidence not to mess with a good thing. On songs like "No Girl" and "Feeling Sorry" they've taken punk back to garage-rock again; they've figured out how to write a boiled-down riff and a few verses about relationships as if they're making it up on the spot. Their record has poor sound quality, bad graphics and crooked typesetting, and it's nearly perfect.-----NY TIMES

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There's no tenderness to be found on The Points latest, a self titled buzz saw of guitar, spat vocals and jagged keyboard lines. The band hails from Washington, D.C. but their tunes are pure vintage Detroit proto-punk with an ever so slight influence of their hometown's Dischord label in the hyperactive Teen Idles drumming. Lazier listeners might compare the band to Jay Reatard but I'm pretty sure The Points would cut anyone they heard making that comparison, not cause Jay's a bad guy but because their roots are obviously different. These guys (and gal) are way less pop, but they've still got a sweetness to their back up vocals and hooks that, at least underneath the dirt, will stay stuck in your brain. If the idea of having a singer spit beer at you between songs at a sweaty basement show sounds like your idea of a good time, and I know it sounds like mine, these twelve songs will kick your ass. If the idea fills you with terror that you'd get a stain on your American Apparel hoodie or retro-Nikes… well yeah, you probably wouldn't understand why this rules anyway. 9 out of 10---MAMMOTH PRESS

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It was Ian Svenonius who first told me about the Points. If I remember correctly, his description started with "They're from somewhere in Virginia..." and ended with wild gesticulations and onomatopoeia. Considering Ian's exquisite command of the English language, seeing him resort to arm-flapping and "vrrrrooom" felt like the ultimate endorsement.

Unfortunately this isn't a vlog, so you'll have to trust my pithy keystrokes when I say the Points' new album is incredibly rad, distilling the best of Rocket From the Crypt and the Stooges into a fuzzy slab that zigs and zags in pleasing directions. Grip the CD now/grip the wax on Halloween. ----Chris Richards

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In David's article about the end of 611 Florida, he mentioned Kansas House as one of the venues that was set to pick up the area's house show slack. Tonight's bill, headlined by the Points (listen), does just that. David says the following with no hesitation at all -- the Points is D.C.'s best band. And really, the competition is not even close. The Points comfortably held the title of the city's best live band for a while -- a refresher, if you need one -- but now that its jarring jolt of energy has been successfully captured on record, it gets the more general title. The just-released self-titled debut, is just about as perfect a punk rock album as you'll hear this year. The fast and loud basics are there, but so are the hooks. The Points write songs. Very good ones. "Never Gonna Trust My Heart" is straight out of the Ramones playbook, and if you've seen someone driving around Arlington in a Hyundai blasting perfect punk anthem "No Girl," well that was David.-----WASHINGTONPOST.COM

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STICK IN THE EYE: THE POINTS ROCK SO HARD IT HURTS

ON SEPT. 10, got hit in the mouth with a drumstick during Monotonix's opening set for the Silver Jews.

In any other 12-month span that would probably count as my wildest rock memory. But despite the Israeli madmen's best efforts to scar me for life, they still cannot compete with the chaos of The Points show I attended at The Red & The Black last October.

Between an intoxicated crowd, massive equipment failures and an openly antagonistic relationship between the bands and the soundman, things got out of control. For instance, when I started bleeding at the Black Cat, I took a seat and iced my lip. But The Points fan with the open head wound kept slam dancing, pausing only to periodically vomit on the floor.

There really is no contest.

But after a year of nearly nonstop touring, the D.C.-based band is evolving.

Longtime keyboard player Rebecca Dye recently left The Points. As drummer Travis Jackson recounts it, the departure was amicable. "She became torn between work and pleasure. She worked and toured hard and we can't dis her."

In Dye's absence The Points have added keyboardist Chad Middleton (of VCR) and Danny Darko (ex-Murder Skit Corpses) on bass. Jackson reports that the new lineup "sounds a lot fuller. Darko is a DSPM [down strokes per minute] master and has already toured the U.S. with The Points. Chad toggles and bends between lows and highs adding a new wave of analog to the sound."

After a handful of September shows — including a CD release party on Sept. 23 at the Black Cat — the new Points lineup will head out for a full U.S. tour in November in support of the CD, which follows a handful of 7-inches, EPs and homemade CD-Rs that the band hawked — sometimes quite aggressively — at its shows.

For those unfamiliar with the The Points' sound, it is loud, fast and raucous, with few songs lasting much longer than two minutes. Although that sounds like a dictionary definition of punk, The Points have sometimes been classified as a garage band.

Not surprisingly, Jackson prefers to discard subgenre labels altogether.

"We never wanted to be a part of the whole 'garage revival' thing that was happening," he said. "We love that sound, and we are influenced by some bands of that time. It's just so much easier to say 'rock 'n' roll.' It feels good to say it. 'Rock 'n' roll.'"

He adds an additional disqualifier for garage-rock status: "We don't own [matching] suits."

In fact, The Points frequently perform in matching homemade pentagram T-shirts.

Rock 'n' roll indeed.

Those curious about The Points shouldn't be deterred from seeing the band by the bloody, vomiting fan from last October. These days, Jackson's explosive beer-spitting is probably the only fluid audiences will encounter. As far as he knows that job is still his alone, saying of his new bandmates, "I'm not sure if they spit beer. I know they drink a lot of it though. A lot."

Apparently last October's show was memorable even by the band's standards. Here, in perhaps the most concise Express 5 in the history of the format, are The Points' least favorite venues:

1. The Red & The Black
2. The Red & The Black
3. The Red & The Black
4. The Red & The Black
5. The Red & The Black

EXPRESSNIGHTOUT.COM---MEG ZAMULA

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Melding late '70s punk, early '70s Detroit proto-punk and '60s garage rock is not an innovative approach to music in 2008, but the Points showed Friday night at the Rock & Roll Hotel that such a combination can still be exhilarating. While the D.C. group's fast-tempo arrangements occasionally proved repetitive, singer George "Geo" White's snarling vocals and clever guitar work, drummer Travis Jackson's pounding beats and keyboardist Rebecca Dye's hyperactive rhythms largely worked.

Together since 2005, this trio (theremin player Stuart Gordon joins them as a guest on occasion) has gained a reputation as much for its aggressive approach to audience interaction as for its music. Despite playing for only about 30 people, the group did not disappoint.

Opening with "I Don't Know About You," the band members frantically bobbed their heads to the fuzztone guitar, bouncy organ and thumping drums. Although the sound man buried White's vocals too low in the mix, his emotional intensity was still palpable. While some of his mannerisms may be shtick (he crossed himself and gave the middle finger to the audience, as he has done in concert before), he was nevertheless entertaining.

Noting that some of the crowd was near the back of the small room, he disdainfully taunted, "D.C. nerds, why don't you come up front?" shortly before he and the band launched into the catchy roar of "Rock 'n' Roll, No Rules." After the group blistered through the song's verses and chorus several times, drummer Jackson began gleefully spitting a mist of beer in the direction of a fan close to the stage who had been happily doing the same to the band.

This still label-less group closed with the mesmerizing two-chord assault of "Cooler Things." Jackson was standing for this number while keyboardist Dye was frenetically tapping with two fingers. White stopped vocalizing near the end of the song and dropped to his knees, scratching out unique guitar runs before cranking up the feedback to close out the set.

-- Steve Kiviat WASHINGTON POST

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Another one of our favorite bands is celebrating the release of their self-titled debut album this week, and the Points (listen) couldn't be further on the opposite side of the musical spectrum from Chopteeth. Instead of a sprawling lineup that features more than a dozen members, the Points keep it simple: the longtime trio has recently expanded to -- gasp! -- a quartet. No genre-jumping for them, either -- the Points play over-adrenalized punk rock that feels like a punch in the face. In a good way. Live shows are always on the verge of chaos, and those are the calm ones. If you are sick of over-stylized rock-and-roll and want something that'll make you feel dirty (again, in a good way), the Points are what you need. Black Time (listen) and Static Static (listen) open at the Black Cat.

-- Fritz Hahn, Rhome Anderson and David Malitz WASHINGTONPOST.COM

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Washington, D.C., has been the birthplace of many legendary bands of punk, hardcore, rock, indie and other various genres over the years. Simply mentioning a band comes/came out of the D.C. scene lumps them in with many greats. I mean, let's face it, it sounds much more promising than hearing a band originated from North Dakota. Regardless of scene associations, the D.C. duo The Points really aren't half bad. Are they and their self-titled punk/garage rock record good enough to hang with the D.C. crew of iconic bands past and present? It's debatable. One thing for sure is that they know how to rock your eardrums raw and aren't the least bit bashful about it. Their frenzied guitar, drums and vocals combine into a sort of static cling on your brain, making it hard to focus on anything else except their chaos. –Jeremy C. Wilkins ---SLUG MAGAZINE

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With Plenty Of Presence, The Points Have Plenty. In a city brimming with career-minded rock bands, one of Washington's best troupes sure doesn't try very hard. It's a scruffy outfit called the Points. Its look is disheveled, its songs are ramshackle, even its MySpace page is a mess. But the emerging four-piece knows how to work up a sweat where it counts: onstage. The band's Thursday night set at the Black Cat lasted a mere 20 minutes but offered plenty of thrills, combining garage-rock bluster (a la the Sonics) with snot-nosed sneers (a la sundry classic L.A. punk bands). Sure, it's an almost exhausted style, but the Points give it a fresh look. Much of that came courtesy of singer George White's choppy guitar work and Travis Jackson's thuggish drum-thumping. Keyboardist Rebecca Dye provided the low end, toggling between brusque bass lines and subsonic drones. And then there's that guy in the back, playing the theremin. (Anyone who's ever seen a UFO descend in a vintage sci-fi flick knows that this is the stupidest instrument ever invented). But Stuart Gordon used it impressively, and modestly, laying down a wonderful warble while his band mates slashed and burned through "She's Gotta Know" and "Rock and Roll, No Rules." White's throaty bark sounded convincing on the latter song, even though he abided by rock-and-roll rule No. 1: Thou shall have cool stage moves. During the thumping breakdown of "Never Gonna Trust You With My Heart," he made the sign of the cross and then flipped fans the bird. ---Washington Post, Chris Richards

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The Points: "Rock n Roll No Rules" Serving up snarling punk rock in the vein of the Stooges and the MC5, these local loudmouths sound way more Detroit than D.C. With "Rock n Roll No Rules," they lay down a fuzz so tightly wound, shag carpeting might get jealous. ---Washington Post, Chris Richards

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The Points "S/T" CDR This is a newish band from Fredricksburg, VA. The sound is a total rad blast of horny heated guitar and blaring constipated rhythmic static blasting that will melt on your dress. Nice stuff. ---Max Bristol, Flapping Jet Records

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On the very short list of D.C.'s best bands -- especially in a live setting -- is the Points (listen). Most bands in this town want to be your friends, your buddies. The Points would rather spit beer at you. And we love them for that. The whole confrontational band thing isn't exactly new and can come off as a crutch for groups that don't have songs to make you care, but the Points aren't lacking for those. The quartet's unique guitar/moog/drums/theremin attack is trashy, noisy and memorable. Barnburner "Rock n Roll No Rules" is always a showstopper and there are plenty more like it. Give 'em half an hour and they'll make you a fan, even if you have to throw your shirt in the washing machine right when you get home.---Washington Post

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In these sad days of foppish indie-rockers and Kermit the Frog throated singer songwriters, The Points offer a glimmer of recklessness to a community that lately seems hell bent on establishing emotional maturity. The DC trio isnt likely to whisper heartfelt couplets of alt country courtship into your ear or hold up the show with soft hearted request for the soundman to dial in a little more glockenspiel. No, The Points could probably care less about anybody hearing their lyrics, and if an instrument cant be connected to a speaker cabinet its probably not an instrument they want to bother with anyway. Instead, the former house band at the now defunct Shaw skate park Fight Club deals in loud, wasted three-chord garage rock, played with a bludgeoning repetition that verges on psychedelia.---Aaron Leitko, Washington City Paper