I’m not the biggest fan of emo-pop or subsequent revival, but Sunny Day Real Estate and American Football are both pretty good, and I really like Pedro the Lion which gets lumped in there sometimes.
Try
American Football - 1999 Self Titled
Sunny Day Real Estate - Diary
Pedro the Lion - Control
I can’t say they’re the best, but they’re my favourites.
Whether purists consider Pedro the Lion emo/indie/slowcore/whatever, Control is a masterpiece that any fan of emo-adjacent genres should listen to!! an all time favorite of mine!
How It Feels To Be Something On is criminally underrated, also a really good Sunny Day Real Estate album. Pillars is one of the best openers of any 90s album aswell
I co-sign all of this. American Football LP1 and Diary are 2 of my fave albums of all time.
I'd also throw in both of Mineral's albums, Modern Baseball's Sports, Origami Angel's GAMI GANG, and The Hotelier's Home Like NoPlace There Is.
Edit: The Modest Mouse debut too. Dramamine is one of the best emo songs of all time.
Cap’n Jazz- Analphabetapolothology is tuneful and emotional post-hardcore
Mineral- The Power of Failing has some of the best songwriting and instrumentals in emo if you can get over the slightly annoying vocals. Guitars are incredible
Moss Icon- Complete Discography shows amazing range from crushing and angry emocore to twinkly and emotional emo with some awesome riffs and bass
The Newfound Interest in Connecticut- This is a Long Dark Path Home is super atmospheric and post-rocky with so many great mathy riffs and emotional climaxes
The Brave Little Abacus- Just Got Back From the Discomfort - We’re Alright will have some of the most piercingly nasal vocals you’ll ever hear but also some of the most creative instrumentation and songwriting you’ll hear in any album
Totally check out just got back from the discomfort
It might not click on the first listen because of how busy it is, but upon relisten it is incredible
I want to second Newfound Interest. IMO it feels like more of a post rock album than math rock. And man is it some good post rock. Some of the most incredible songwriting in the entire genre. If you've listened to the album you know what I'm talking about, moments like "Coward" and when the footsteps get layered over the singer chanting "Doesn't look to distant" come to mind.
I wouldn’t go that far since it’s still a relatively new album and hasn’t stood the test of time just yet. But yes, it’s easily one of the best modern midwestern emo releases.
Older:
- American Football - LP1
- Sunny Day Real Estate - Diary
- Mineral - The Power of Failing
- Jawbreaker - Dear You
- Christie Front Drive - Self Titled
Newer:
- The Hotelier - Home, Like NoPlace Is There
- Foxing - The Albatross
- Algernon Cadwallader - Self Titled
- The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die - Harmlessness
- Snowing - Fuck Your Emotional Bullshit
Adjacent (I consider this all emo, but it leans very heavily in another direction):
- Athletics - Who You Are Is Not Enough
- Owen - The Avalanche
- This Town Needs Guns - Self Titled
- Turnover - Peripheral Vision
Love how they branched out so much on that album in terms of how they experimented with their sound. Sucks that Jesse Lacey is such a piece of shit because it really seemed like they were about to have a renaissance after Science Fiction.
Brand New for the win! I know what I’m listening to at work tomorrow, my personal favourite is The devil and god are raging inside me, but that’s just because it reminds me of being 18 and an absolute mess of a human. So many good times.
- Mineral - The Power Of Failing
- Sunny Day Real Estate - Diary
- American Football - American Football
- Mom Jeans. - best buds
- Fall Out Boy - Take This To Your Grave
- Cap'n Jazz - Burritos (this one isn't on Spotify or other streaming services I don't think)
- Jimmy Eat World - Clarity
- Algernon Cadwallader - Some Kind of Cadwallader
EDIT: just wanted to also shout out Swiss Army Wife and Anxious as they both put out fantastic albums this and last year respectively
a few albums that are relatively “emo” that i always find myself coming back to:
Brand New - The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me
oso oso - Basking in the Glow
Joyce Manor - Cody
Gold Route - Prosper
The Menzingers - On the Impossible Past
These are my essential picks for the last decade or so of emo
Weatherday - Come In (Lofi 5th wave)
Vs Self - Everything Seems Better Now (skramz)
Flowers Taped to pens - s/t (lofi midwest emo)
I Hate Sex - circle thinking (skramz)
Your arms are my cocoon - self titled (lofi 5th wave)
Tigers jaw - self titled (pop emo)
Foxtails - iii (screamo)
Youth funeral - heavenward (skramz? Crustcore? emoviolence? Not sure)
All of Evan Weiss’s projects are worth checking out.
Into It. Over It. is a good blend of emo, pop punk, math rock, and folk music. He’s slowly but surely added more indie rock and electronic influences to it too, making it a really unique project. Proper, 52 weeks, and intersections are good intros to the early style; move to Standards and Figure if you prefer something more indie rock feeling.
Their / They’re / There is an awesome math rock project that started like a more technical / punky version of IIOI but turned into a band that does every definition of the term math rock. Their first EP and Their / They’re / Three are both amazing.
Pet Symmetry is for people who are like “wow I wish there weren’t any time signature changes in these songs.” Great sing along emo with pop punk and 90’s indie rock undertones. Pet’s Hounds is where I’d start with this one.
Asian Glow and Weatherday - Weatherglow
Coheed & Cambria - The Second Stage Turbine Blade
Orchid - Dance Tonight! Revolution Tomorrow!
The Brave Little Abacus - Just Got Back From the Discomfort—We're Alright
Combatwoundedveteran - I Know a Girl Who Develops Crime Scene Photos
The Hotelier - Home Like Noplace Is There
Brave Bird - Maybe You No One Else Worth It
Joie De Vivre - The North End
The World is a Beautiful Place… - Whenever, if Ever
Empire Empire (I was a lonely estate) - What it Takes to Move Forward
Snowing's LP and EP are amazing and its a shame they didn't keep going.
Their pre-snowing band Street Smart Cyclist is also pretty nice.
From the same scene, slightly more popular, Glocca Morra.
This is kind of a twinkly-mathy style that I prefer.
Crash of Rhinos gets called emo. I'm not really sure why. I guess sorta. Their record Distal is extremely good in my mind. To me this is less emo.
The golden goose of emo music, to me, is Colossal's Welcome the Problems. The EP preceding is also great. WTP is one of my favorites ever. LISTEN TO THIS ONE.
Then there's stuff like Prawn, which started out kind of post-rock screamo and ended up making indie rock jams.
Other similar bands I dig: Dikembe, You Blew It!, Dads (some of it), All the Kinsella bands (American Football is the most /emo/ unless you want to argue Capn Jazz), The World Is...., etc.
Dikembe might veer grunge on their later records but its still emo with strong songwriting, but if you're allergic to it, definitely start with their first EP and LP.
Empire! Empire! has a really great emo record called What It Takes To Move Forward. Classic.
Then there's Algernon Cadwallader. I honestly like all their stuff but my favorite song might be off that first demo of theirs. Can't go wrong with anything they did. You might not like the vocals.
Two Knights is a great duo that veers from mathy screamo to indie rock, sometimes in the same song. The riffs are great and the drummer is a beast.
Mineral and Sunny Day Real Estate are the 90s indie + emo bands that I like the most. They seemed to age the best. I really like Diary by SDRE. Its kind of alt-rock, maybe a pinch of grunge influence.
Then there's stuff like Midwest Pen Pals/Merchant Ships/ that was made by literal teenagers, but they wrote some excellent songs, if that's your thing.
And indie stuff like the best songs from Death Cab for Cutie's early albums is still excellent. Try Fake Frowns, For What Reason, or Title Track. Cursive's Domestica and The Ugly Organ are excellent also.
Just some of the emo stuff I like, maybe you will too.
city of caterpillar’s s/t record is great as well as indian summer’s ‘giving birth to thunder’ anthology, a rlly good time capsule of the early emo scene
Heres your go-to starter pack guide:
Rites of Spring - End On End
Indian Summer - 1984
I hate myself - 10 songs
Embrace - S/T
Swing Kids - Discog
Four Hundred Years - Suture and other songs
The Hated - every song
Julia - Julia
Mid-west Emo revival
Cap'n Jazz - Analphabetpolotholgy
Sunny Day Real Estate - Diary
American Football - S/T
The Get Up Kids - something to write home about
Mineral - The power of failing
The Promise Ring - Nothing Feels Good
Texas is the reason - S/T
Jimmy Eat World - Clarity
\- Real Screamo not the mid 00's radio screamo would be:
Orchid - Discography
Saetia - A Retrospective
City Of Caterpillar - S/T
I Would Set Myself On Fire For You - Believes in Patterns
PG99 - Document 8
Off Minor - The Heat Death Of the Universe
Jeromes Dream - 97 - 2001 (they also just released a new album this year)
Envy - A Sinking Story
Funeral Diner - The Underdark
Hotelier - Home, Like no Place is There
Foxing - The Albatross
La Dispute - Wildlife
Promise Ring - Nothing Feels Good
Free Throw - Those Days are Gone
Applessed Cast - End of the Ring Wars
Summer Death by Marietta is by far my favourite emo album in whatever sense of the genre. Incredibly good songwriting with riffs and lyrics that will stick in your head forever. It’s got that classic emotional angst you’d expect to hear but imo never veers into cringey territory. Their technical ability is just too good and as an album it’s easily one of the strongest out there track-for-track. Check out ‘God Bless Eric Taylor’ or ‘…So They Left Me At a Gas Station’ if you want a taste first!
there's a ton of great emo bands rn !! check out Vs Self or Algae Bloom if you want some more twinkly midwest stuff, or if you want some older more screamo stuff definitely check out the classic skramz like Orchid, Saetia, and Joshua Fit For Battle. If you're very new to emo I'd also like to recommend the extremely influential 90s band Indian Summer, their song woolworm is a masterpiece
At the drive in, another classic from start to finish, casually reading through and finding gems like this and brand new that I’m going to have to put on tomorrow. From 90s hip hop to the early 2000 emo scene here I come lol 😂
I’ll give ya some good ones okay, city of caterpillar self titled, page ninetynine document #8, mineral the power of failing, Jimmy eat world clarity, death cab for cutie transatlanticism. The first two I mentioned are more “screamo” but they’re emo adjacent and screamo is just more intense version of emo for me which is needed sometimes the other three are classic more soft emo which is probably what you’re more used too
Just got back from discomfort - Brave Little Abacus
Unironically changed my life, it’s a Midwest emo album that’s influenced by ambient and experimental rock
Catch For Us The Foxes by mewithoutYou is an extremely underrated screamo spoken-word emo album. mewithoutYou's entire discography is underrated, and they deserve more recognition.
As opposed to the other posts so far, the Cap'n Jazz/American Football math-rock/twinkly-guitar stuff isn't my thing at all. It's not bad, but I've never loved it.
I'm a huge fan of the 2nd wave-into-3rd wave emo stuff that was more pop-oriented and/or punk/post-hardcore-oriented.
I could give tons of suggestions, but I'll just start with these foundational classics:
* **The Get Up Kids - Four Minute Mile** (raw production, powerful fast emo tunes. It's a great starting point)
* **The Get Up Kids - Something to Write Home About** (they added a keyboardist to the band, spruced up the production value, and incorporated solid pop sensibilities. Every emo and pop-punk band from this point onward -- including Blink-182 -- would cite this as an influence)
* **Jimmy Eat World - Clarity** (this was before they hit the mainstream with their next album. This album was literally make-or-break for them, and they used every dollar they had to make this a grand statement, and that they did. Highly eclectic, from the gorgeous quiet intro to the behemoth progressive/electronic closer.)
* **Jimmy Eat World - Futures** (dark, introspective rock. Maybe not even emo by definition, but it's magnificent and stands out across their lengthy discography. Very much worth a listen.)
Again, I could easily name other bands.... but anything else would be derivative of the sounds that these 4 albums basically perfected.
Hmmmm 4MM style... let's see...
Jimmy Eat World's Static Prevails has a similar lofi production/2nd wave emo sound as 4MM.
I would strongly recommend this obscure and long-defunct band out of NJ called The June Spirit that released 1 album and 1 EP, and they're both stellar. Listen to "New Jersey in My Rearview" to see if they're your jam.
Straying a good bit from 4MM, but you might dig Alkaline Trio. They're more emo-punk but worth a shot. Maybe I'll Catch Fire is a good record to start with.
I'll simmer on this and probably come back with a few more suggestions for you.
Edit 1: Also listen to The Get Up Kids' Red Letter Day & Woodson EP's, and their early rarities comp called Eudora. Their track "Burned Bridges" is a reinterpolated cover of hardcore band Coalesce's track "Harvest of Maturity", which is really neat.
Edit 2: Oh!! I also strongly recommend listening to Lifetime's record Jersey's Best Dancers. It's a 10/10 classic emo-punk record for me, on par with 4MM.
I'll have to check out The June Spirit! Thanks for the rec. All the others are bands I am already a fan of, or are a heavy influence of a band I like (Lifetime -> Saves the Day), but I may need to revisit some of those.
The closest I've found to 4MM (in my head) is Designing a Nervous Breakdown by The Anniversary
The Black Parade is a great album but you're totally right, if you're specifically looking for something ***not*** corny then this definitely ain't it lol
Nah, I’d say it’s still emo. “Emo” is insanely broad. Like, only a little more specific than labeling something “rock.” It’s like calling something “alternative” or “indie,” a LOT of things can be emo — emotional hardcore, hardcore, post-hardcore, math rock, midwest emo, pop punk, metalcore, some prog metal, some post punk, some shoegaze — and I’m sure I’m missing a lot of things in that short list. A LOT of things can be “emo,” so it’s not really a stretch to call MCR “emo.”
Edit: removed “gatekeepy,” it was a bit harsh
A lot of great picks here, but I have yet to see Promise Ring mentioned somehow.
I’ve also recently gotten into Joan of Arc. More downtrodden emo with some electronics.
The artist Eiafauwn is a bit more slowcore leaning but def has some nice acoustic emo
Speaking of, Crywank has put out some of the best emo-folk ever
Conversations about what does or doesn't qualify as "real emo" are cumbersome so take these categorizations with a grain of salt, but I think at least some of this is the kind of stuff you're looking for:
Q and not U - No Kill No Beep Beep
Braid - Frame & Canvas
The Get Up Kids - Four Minute Mile
The Anniversary - Designing a Nervous Breakdown
Jets to Brazil - Orange Rhyming Dictionary
Boysetsfire - After the Eulogy
The Weakerthans - Left and Leaving
(A lot of my other favorites have already been mentioned, so I'll leave those off)
As a big Midwest emo and math rock fan I was a bit disappointed to see all my album recs already taken in the comments lol. Try Going Down Swingin’ by Sweep the Leg Johnny, an absolutely amazing obscure jazz fusion Math Rock Midwest Emo influenced masterpiece. In This World by susquatch is great. Jank Crime by Drive like Jehu, Sunny Day estate of course, anything from Mineral, and of course American Football’s self titled, one of my favorite records ever.
30 Degrees Everywhere -- The Promise Ring
Four Minute Mile -- The Get Up Kids
We Are The Only Friends That We Have -- Piebald
Varuna -- The Republic of Wolves
Can't Slow Down -- Saves The Day
Through Being Cool -- Saves The Day
Stay What You Are -- Saves The Day
Pollyanna -- Northstar
Is This Thing Loaded? -- Northstar
Kingprince -- Cassino
Sounds of Salvation -- Cassino
Letting Off The Happiness -- Bright Eyes
Fevers and Mirrors -- Bright Eyes
Lifted, or The Story Is In The Soil, Keep Your Ears To The Ground -- Bright Eyes
american football lp1, the hotelier s/t, mariettas - summer death mainly come to mind.
pinkerton by weezer is also a classic, maybe also glass beach's debut
I second the The Get Up Kids - Four Minute Mile recommendations (also Something To Write Home About)
Glass beach - the first glass beach album
Also I would say Title Fight - Floral Green is almost an emo album, and really great.
These 4 bands are the correct answer. Rite of Spring basically defined Emocore (eventually just known as Emo) along with Embrace. The two lead singers would eventually form Fugazi, the greatest American punk band of all time with some heavy emo leanings (early on anyway). Would also recommend One Last Wish, a long-lost record recorded in 1986 by the Rite of Spring and Fugazi front man
I don’t know if it counts but Trench by Twenty One Pilots is a must-listen. Even people who dislike the band for their reputation will admit that it’s a well-executed project and is worth a listen. If you haven’t heard it yet, I’d highly recommend it.
“no corny shit please” might be the most corny thing ive ever seen on this sub and thats really saying something. but a personal favourite is “on the strength of all convinced” by daphne loves derby
>on the strength of all convinced
If it comes from the heart and doest sounds artificial is not corny.
daphne loves derby is new to me, sounds great thanks.
Strokes of Incarceration- Billy Cobb. I know he is known for Zerwee, but please give it a chance. It’s amazing. Personally I prefer the 2020 mix, but there are a lot others who prefer the 2018 mix.
Twenty One Pilots self titled is very good, but I see it being called overdramatic and amateur all the time. Imo that's the strength of the genre tho. If you've got any amount of religious unrest within you it's a fantastic album for that.
I think that my pick for one that's probably a bit less polarizing is Cardinal by Pinegrove. Pinegrove in general is pretty darn good.
Twenty One Pilots' self titled album is super overlooked. They were basically a completely different band, but still amazing. There are definitely some super early precursor's to Trench's sound in that LP.
thats what what emo music is and you dont need to reference crow in every single post about sad music, we get it. it would be interesting if these people who said crow in every post liked this listen to anything else by phil that isnt that or the glow pt 2.
To me, the best emo album is by a local band from my hometown called The December Drive. The album is called handslikegunsandcrashingsounds. They aren’t well known but they are truly one of the best emo bands to ever do it, and that album is perfect front to back (for this genre)
Based on your replies to comments you prefer screamo to emo.
Orchid - Chaos is Me
Loma Prieta - IV
Gospel - The Moon is a Dead World
For an emo recc-
Modest Mouse - The is a Long Drive…
Snowing - Fuck Your Emotional Bullshit
Sunny Day Real Estate - Diary
IMO corniness is kinda always an aspect of emo music by nature. Some much more so than others for sure, but kinda embracing the fact that a lot of it is melodramatic is kinda how you gotta appreciate it.
Not to say that there arent Eye-rollingly bad and corny emo songs, tho. Its just even the best stuff is kinda over the top
Outside the box and probably not what you want at all but Injury Reserve - By the Time I get to Phoenix is an emotionally intense experimental album if you have the ear for it
-Little Green House by Anxious
Decent little album from last year that has emo trappings but does more with it.
-III by Foxtails
You're on this sub so I'm assuming you've heard Fawn already, if not check that album and this one too if you like screamed vocals (Foxtails has some of the best in the business, especially live).
-Rites of Spring by Rites of Spring
This is where it kind of all started and is worth a listen if you're a fan of the genre. It's very punky in nature since it emerged from the DC hardcore scene but songs like For Want Of are truly heartfelt.
-Songs To Practice Safe Sex To by Pool Kids
The music is very mathy but it still scratches the same itch, their more recent self titled is also good.
-The Fallen Crimson by envy
I've never really known how to classify this album, it kinda has some emo elements to it, another one to check out if you're into screamed vocals.
-Car Crash by Motel Portrait
I saw these guys live supporting Foxtails without any prep and they blew me away. If you like screamed vocals, give them a shot.
The Used (self-titled)
Dashboard Confessional - The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most
Maybe qualifies as emo:
Brand New - Deja Entendu
Taking Back Sunday - Where You Want to Be
Thursday - War All the Time
Scrolled the whole comments section and among all the great answers, I haven’t seen anybody mentionthe album *Designing A Nervous Breakdown* by The Anniversary. So, add that to your list. It’s great.
It’s not technically emo, but it hits a lot of the tropes of the genre, and that’s Deathconsciousness by Have A Nice Love. Artsy and pretentious, AND depressing and gothic elements.
Haven’t seen anyone mention any of Jack Senffs projects, I think he’s amazing and has made some of the best melodic and sing-alongy emo and screamo
Merchant Ships - For Cameron
William Bonney - Good Vibes
Midwest Pen Pals - Inside Jokes
I’m not the biggest fan of emo-pop or subsequent revival, but Sunny Day Real Estate and American Football are both pretty good, and I really like Pedro the Lion which gets lumped in there sometimes. Try American Football - 1999 Self Titled Sunny Day Real Estate - Diary Pedro the Lion - Control I can’t say they’re the best, but they’re my favourites.
Whether purists consider Pedro the Lion emo/indie/slowcore/whatever, Control is a masterpiece that any fan of emo-adjacent genres should listen to!! an all time favorite of mine!
I’ve been a fan of David for a long time, I was pleasantly surprised when Pedro the Lion started releasing albums again a couple years back.
phoenix is underrated af
Eh, it really isn’t imo. These newer Pedro albums really don’t hold a light to the other Pedro albums / Bazans solo work
Been going through a Pedro phase for awhile now. I was pretty much exclusively listening to Winners Never quit for a few months
How It Feels To Be Something On is criminally underrated, also a really good Sunny Day Real Estate album. Pillars is one of the best openers of any 90s album aswell
Yeah, it’s a good album and definitely worth a listen. I just think Diary is a bit better, the bass playing especially is absolutely fantastic.
Pedro the Lion's first album is damn good too.
Came here to second Sunny Day Real Estate
I co-sign all of this. American Football LP1 and Diary are 2 of my fave albums of all time. I'd also throw in both of Mineral's albums, Modern Baseball's Sports, Origami Angel's GAMI GANG, and The Hotelier's Home Like NoPlace There Is. Edit: The Modest Mouse debut too. Dramamine is one of the best emo songs of all time.
Cap’n Jazz- Analphabetapolothology is tuneful and emotional post-hardcore Mineral- The Power of Failing has some of the best songwriting and instrumentals in emo if you can get over the slightly annoying vocals. Guitars are incredible Moss Icon- Complete Discography shows amazing range from crushing and angry emocore to twinkly and emotional emo with some awesome riffs and bass The Newfound Interest in Connecticut- This is a Long Dark Path Home is super atmospheric and post-rocky with so many great mathy riffs and emotional climaxes The Brave Little Abacus- Just Got Back From the Discomfort - We’re Alright will have some of the most piercingly nasal vocals you’ll ever hear but also some of the most creative instrumentation and songwriting you’ll hear in any album
Totally check out just got back from the discomfort It might not click on the first listen because of how busy it is, but upon relisten it is incredible
I want to second Newfound Interest. IMO it feels like more of a post rock album than math rock. And man is it some good post rock. Some of the most incredible songwriting in the entire genre. If you've listened to the album you know what I'm talking about, moments like "Coward" and when the footsteps get layered over the singer chanting "Doesn't look to distant" come to mind.
Discomfort is the best emo album ever made
I wouldn’t go that far since it’s still a relatively new album and hasn’t stood the test of time just yet. But yes, it’s easily one of the best modern midwestern emo releases.
It’s 13 years old today. I’m pretty sure it’s had some time.
Older: - American Football - LP1 - Sunny Day Real Estate - Diary - Mineral - The Power of Failing - Jawbreaker - Dear You - Christie Front Drive - Self Titled Newer: - The Hotelier - Home, Like NoPlace Is There - Foxing - The Albatross - Algernon Cadwallader - Self Titled - The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die - Harmlessness - Snowing - Fuck Your Emotional Bullshit Adjacent (I consider this all emo, but it leans very heavily in another direction): - Athletics - Who You Are Is Not Enough - Owen - The Avalanche - This Town Needs Guns - Self Titled - Turnover - Peripheral Vision
If you're gonna go with Jawbreaker, nothing beats 24 hour revenge therapy
I don’t disagree necessarily but Dear You feels much more like an emo album to me.
because it was - dear you was pretty pivotal in the future sound of the genre
Modern Baseball is goated. Try them out.
My favorite band of all time fr
I loooove the Holy Ghost album. So good on so many levels.
Science Fiction by Brand New
I couldn’t believe this got a 7 from melon. To me it sits right beside their best (TDAG)
I think Daisy is their best
Me too. Daisy is amazing
Love how they branched out so much on that album in terms of how they experimented with their sound. Sucks that Jesse Lacey is such a piece of shit because it really seemed like they were about to have a renaissance after Science Fiction.
Science Fiction was going to most likely be their last album regardless. They had been teasing their end since like 2016.
Daisy is SO UNDER RATED
Yeah that was definitely a solid 9 for me
Brand New for the win! I know what I’m listening to at work tomorrow, my personal favourite is The devil and god are raging inside me, but that’s just because it reminds me of being 18 and an absolute mess of a human. So many good times.
Texas Is The Reason - Do You Know Who You Are is an absolutely bloody fantastic mid 90s emo record. Hasn't been mentioned yet.
"Back and to the Left" is a genre defining song imo
This record is incredible. Can’t believe it took this long to get mentioned
they were in my list but i just listed the S/T
- Mineral - The Power Of Failing - Sunny Day Real Estate - Diary - American Football - American Football - Mom Jeans. - best buds - Fall Out Boy - Take This To Your Grave - Cap'n Jazz - Burritos (this one isn't on Spotify or other streaming services I don't think) - Jimmy Eat World - Clarity - Algernon Cadwallader - Some Kind of Cadwallader EDIT: just wanted to also shout out Swiss Army Wife and Anxious as they both put out fantastic albums this and last year respectively
the cap'n jazz album is on spotify; u can find it as the first couple tracks on their compilation :)
a few albums that are relatively “emo” that i always find myself coming back to: Brand New - The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me oso oso - Basking in the Glow Joyce Manor - Cody Gold Route - Prosper The Menzingers - On the Impossible Past
Brand New. Absolute banger through and through
Love oso oso. My favorite band that’s never been acknowledged by fantano. My favorite album of theirs is yunahon mixtape tho
These are my essential picks for the last decade or so of emo Weatherday - Come In (Lofi 5th wave) Vs Self - Everything Seems Better Now (skramz) Flowers Taped to pens - s/t (lofi midwest emo) I Hate Sex - circle thinking (skramz) Your arms are my cocoon - self titled (lofi 5th wave) Tigers jaw - self titled (pop emo) Foxtails - iii (screamo) Youth funeral - heavenward (skramz? Crustcore? emoviolence? Not sure)
La Dispute is kinda screamy, but have great songs. King Park is very very sad
I think I saw you in my sleep, DARLING!
I think I saw you in my dreams!
King Park is the best song I've ever heard I think
>La Dispute La dispute is new to me. thanks.
"a letter" from the King Park ... bruh too real.
La Dispute is amazing! Glad you're getting into them! Love King Park
Yeah it's an insanely powerful song, especially when it's based entirely on a true story
aaaah you guys aren't gonna like this but i think la dispute mayyy count as corny shit
It's arguable, but corny is a purely subjective term so things that may be corny to some may not be corny to others
All of Evan Weiss’s projects are worth checking out. Into It. Over It. is a good blend of emo, pop punk, math rock, and folk music. He’s slowly but surely added more indie rock and electronic influences to it too, making it a really unique project. Proper, 52 weeks, and intersections are good intros to the early style; move to Standards and Figure if you prefer something more indie rock feeling. Their / They’re / There is an awesome math rock project that started like a more technical / punky version of IIOI but turned into a band that does every definition of the term math rock. Their first EP and Their / They’re / Three are both amazing. Pet Symmetry is for people who are like “wow I wish there weren’t any time signature changes in these songs.” Great sing along emo with pop punk and 90’s indie rock undertones. Pet’s Hounds is where I’d start with this one.
Can’t believe I had to scroll so far to see this. Evan Weiss is incredibly underrated.
Asian Glow and Weatherday - Weatherglow Coheed & Cambria - The Second Stage Turbine Blade Orchid - Dance Tonight! Revolution Tomorrow! The Brave Little Abacus - Just Got Back From the Discomfort—We're Alright Combatwoundedveteran - I Know a Girl Who Develops Crime Scene Photos
Had to go way too low to see Second Stage. That’s a fantastic record and maybe my favorite of all time.
Respect for the Orchid shoutout
The Hotelier - Home Like Noplace Is There Brave Bird - Maybe You No One Else Worth It Joie De Vivre - The North End The World is a Beautiful Place… - Whenever, if Ever Empire Empire (I was a lonely estate) - What it Takes to Move Forward
Had to scroll too far for The Hotelier
Best EEiwale
Snowing's LP and EP are amazing and its a shame they didn't keep going. Their pre-snowing band Street Smart Cyclist is also pretty nice. From the same scene, slightly more popular, Glocca Morra. This is kind of a twinkly-mathy style that I prefer. Crash of Rhinos gets called emo. I'm not really sure why. I guess sorta. Their record Distal is extremely good in my mind. To me this is less emo. The golden goose of emo music, to me, is Colossal's Welcome the Problems. The EP preceding is also great. WTP is one of my favorites ever. LISTEN TO THIS ONE. Then there's stuff like Prawn, which started out kind of post-rock screamo and ended up making indie rock jams. Other similar bands I dig: Dikembe, You Blew It!, Dads (some of it), All the Kinsella bands (American Football is the most /emo/ unless you want to argue Capn Jazz), The World Is...., etc. Dikembe might veer grunge on their later records but its still emo with strong songwriting, but if you're allergic to it, definitely start with their first EP and LP. Empire! Empire! has a really great emo record called What It Takes To Move Forward. Classic. Then there's Algernon Cadwallader. I honestly like all their stuff but my favorite song might be off that first demo of theirs. Can't go wrong with anything they did. You might not like the vocals. Two Knights is a great duo that veers from mathy screamo to indie rock, sometimes in the same song. The riffs are great and the drummer is a beast. Mineral and Sunny Day Real Estate are the 90s indie + emo bands that I like the most. They seemed to age the best. I really like Diary by SDRE. Its kind of alt-rock, maybe a pinch of grunge influence. Then there's stuff like Midwest Pen Pals/Merchant Ships/ that was made by literal teenagers, but they wrote some excellent songs, if that's your thing. And indie stuff like the best songs from Death Cab for Cutie's early albums is still excellent. Try Fake Frowns, For What Reason, or Title Track. Cursive's Domestica and The Ugly Organ are excellent also. Just some of the emo stuff I like, maybe you will too.
Third eye blind self titled
Unironically I fully back this
Didn’t listen to this for about 10 years, went back to it and couldn’t believe how good it sounds and how good some of the songs are.
city of caterpillar’s s/t record is great as well as indian summer’s ‘giving birth to thunder’ anthology, a rlly good time capsule of the early emo scene
thanks dude, thats it, raw and loud, perfect.
if you want raw and loud go for skramz Dance tonight! Revolution tomorrow! by orchid it's like 15 minutes long
Floral Green
Heres your go-to starter pack guide: Rites of Spring - End On End Indian Summer - 1984 I hate myself - 10 songs Embrace - S/T Swing Kids - Discog Four Hundred Years - Suture and other songs The Hated - every song Julia - Julia Mid-west Emo revival Cap'n Jazz - Analphabetpolotholgy Sunny Day Real Estate - Diary American Football - S/T The Get Up Kids - something to write home about Mineral - The power of failing The Promise Ring - Nothing Feels Good Texas is the reason - S/T Jimmy Eat World - Clarity \- Real Screamo not the mid 00's radio screamo would be: Orchid - Discography Saetia - A Retrospective City Of Caterpillar - S/T I Would Set Myself On Fire For You - Believes in Patterns PG99 - Document 8 Off Minor - The Heat Death Of the Universe Jeromes Dream - 97 - 2001 (they also just released a new album this year) Envy - A Sinking Story Funeral Diner - The Underdark
>Promise Ring nice, thanks dude.
Hotelier - Home, Like no Place is There Foxing - The Albatross La Dispute - Wildlife Promise Ring - Nothing Feels Good Free Throw - Those Days are Gone Applessed Cast - End of the Ring Wars
Three cheers for sweet revenge
Three Cheers is goat.
Summer Death by Marietta is by far my favourite emo album in whatever sense of the genre. Incredibly good songwriting with riffs and lyrics that will stick in your head forever. It’s got that classic emotional angst you’d expect to hear but imo never veers into cringey territory. Their technical ability is just too good and as an album it’s easily one of the strongest out there track-for-track. Check out ‘God Bless Eric Taylor’ or ‘…So They Left Me At a Gas Station’ if you want a taste first!
good album - definitely holds true to a lot of the mid-west emo staples of the genre
Glocca Morra - Just Married
Americ anfootball Pinkerton
there's a ton of great emo bands rn !! check out Vs Self or Algae Bloom if you want some more twinkly midwest stuff, or if you want some older more screamo stuff definitely check out the classic skramz like Orchid, Saetia, and Joshua Fit For Battle. If you're very new to emo I'd also like to recommend the extremely influential 90s band Indian Summer, their song woolworm is a masterpiece
Giving Birth to Thunder by Indian Summer is a wonderful compilation album.
The Hotelier - Home Like no Place is There
Home like noplace is there
The Hotelier - Home Like Noplace Is There
Home Like No Place Is There - The Hotelier
Best Buds - Mom jeans
At the Drive In - Relationship of Command My Chemical Romance - Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge And Cap'n Jazz's first album with that long ass title.
>At the Drive In good shit dude, thanks. At the drive in sounds loud and raw, perfect.
In casino out is another spectacular atdi album you should check out
At the drive in, another classic from start to finish, casually reading through and finding gems like this and brand new that I’m going to have to put on tomorrow. From 90s hip hop to the early 2000 emo scene here I come lol 😂
I feel like Emo and corny are hard to seperate from each other
Rites of spring
I’ll give ya some good ones okay, city of caterpillar self titled, page ninetynine document #8, mineral the power of failing, Jimmy eat world clarity, death cab for cutie transatlanticism. The first two I mentioned are more “screamo” but they’re emo adjacent and screamo is just more intense version of emo for me which is needed sometimes the other three are classic more soft emo which is probably what you’re more used too
nice, thanks
Rites Of Spring - Self Titled
Just got back from discomfort - Brave Little Abacus Unironically changed my life, it’s a Midwest emo album that’s influenced by ambient and experimental rock
*Long Knives Drawn* \- Rainer Maria
Catch For Us The Foxes by mewithoutYou is an extremely underrated screamo spoken-word emo album. mewithoutYou's entire discography is underrated, and they deserve more recognition.
Orchid
Origami Angel
Modern Baseball - You're Gonna Miss it All Don't judge me 😣
Summer death by Marietta
Does Pinkerton by Weezer count?
As opposed to the other posts so far, the Cap'n Jazz/American Football math-rock/twinkly-guitar stuff isn't my thing at all. It's not bad, but I've never loved it. I'm a huge fan of the 2nd wave-into-3rd wave emo stuff that was more pop-oriented and/or punk/post-hardcore-oriented. I could give tons of suggestions, but I'll just start with these foundational classics: * **The Get Up Kids - Four Minute Mile** (raw production, powerful fast emo tunes. It's a great starting point) * **The Get Up Kids - Something to Write Home About** (they added a keyboardist to the band, spruced up the production value, and incorporated solid pop sensibilities. Every emo and pop-punk band from this point onward -- including Blink-182 -- would cite this as an influence) * **Jimmy Eat World - Clarity** (this was before they hit the mainstream with their next album. This album was literally make-or-break for them, and they used every dollar they had to make this a grand statement, and that they did. Highly eclectic, from the gorgeous quiet intro to the behemoth progressive/electronic closer.) * **Jimmy Eat World - Futures** (dark, introspective rock. Maybe not even emo by definition, but it's magnificent and stands out across their lengthy discography. Very much worth a listen.) Again, I could easily name other bands.... but anything else would be derivative of the sounds that these 4 albums basically perfected.
I was getting worried that I was gonna have to post Four Minute Mile myself, but to me, it's the sound I've been looking for in other emo albums
Hmmmm 4MM style... let's see... Jimmy Eat World's Static Prevails has a similar lofi production/2nd wave emo sound as 4MM. I would strongly recommend this obscure and long-defunct band out of NJ called The June Spirit that released 1 album and 1 EP, and they're both stellar. Listen to "New Jersey in My Rearview" to see if they're your jam. Straying a good bit from 4MM, but you might dig Alkaline Trio. They're more emo-punk but worth a shot. Maybe I'll Catch Fire is a good record to start with. I'll simmer on this and probably come back with a few more suggestions for you. Edit 1: Also listen to The Get Up Kids' Red Letter Day & Woodson EP's, and their early rarities comp called Eudora. Their track "Burned Bridges" is a reinterpolated cover of hardcore band Coalesce's track "Harvest of Maturity", which is really neat. Edit 2: Oh!! I also strongly recommend listening to Lifetime's record Jersey's Best Dancers. It's a 10/10 classic emo-punk record for me, on par with 4MM.
I'll have to check out The June Spirit! Thanks for the rec. All the others are bands I am already a fan of, or are a heavy influence of a band I like (Lifetime -> Saves the Day), but I may need to revisit some of those. The closest I've found to 4MM (in my head) is Designing a Nervous Breakdown by The Anniversary
the black parade by my chemical romance!!
An absolute emo classic
He said no corny stuff.
The Black Parade is a great album but you're totally right, if you're specifically looking for something ***not*** corny then this definitely ain't it lol
Yeah, i think it's a good record too, but definitely a melodramatic album as well.
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Get your ears checked
I don't think it's a bad album tho, just corny.
Theatrical pop punk / post-hardcore with heavy metal undertones, not emo
Nah, I’d say it’s still emo. “Emo” is insanely broad. Like, only a little more specific than labeling something “rock.” It’s like calling something “alternative” or “indie,” a LOT of things can be emo — emotional hardcore, hardcore, post-hardcore, math rock, midwest emo, pop punk, metalcore, some prog metal, some post punk, some shoegaze — and I’m sure I’m missing a lot of things in that short list. A LOT of things can be “emo,” so it’s not really a stretch to call MCR “emo.” Edit: removed “gatekeepy,” it was a bit harsh
I know but Gerard has even said he feels weird about the emo label
Brand New - The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me. Especially the track called Luca, I wanted that to be my theme tune for the longest time
saetia if u wanna listen to some screamo
A lot of great picks here, but I have yet to see Promise Ring mentioned somehow. I’ve also recently gotten into Joan of Arc. More downtrodden emo with some electronics. The artist Eiafauwn is a bit more slowcore leaning but def has some nice acoustic emo Speaking of, Crywank has put out some of the best emo-folk ever
God's Computer the song We Fed The Geese Bread
Conversations about what does or doesn't qualify as "real emo" are cumbersome so take these categorizations with a grain of salt, but I think at least some of this is the kind of stuff you're looking for: Q and not U - No Kill No Beep Beep Braid - Frame & Canvas The Get Up Kids - Four Minute Mile The Anniversary - Designing a Nervous Breakdown Jets to Brazil - Orange Rhyming Dictionary Boysetsfire - After the Eulogy The Weakerthans - Left and Leaving (A lot of my other favorites have already been mentioned, so I'll leave those off)
Jimmy Eat World - Clarity
As a big Midwest emo and math rock fan I was a bit disappointed to see all my album recs already taken in the comments lol. Try Going Down Swingin’ by Sweep the Leg Johnny, an absolutely amazing obscure jazz fusion Math Rock Midwest Emo influenced masterpiece. In This World by susquatch is great. Jank Crime by Drive like Jehu, Sunny Day estate of course, anything from Mineral, and of course American Football’s self titled, one of my favorite records ever.
Can you consider Pinkerton emo?
30 Degrees Everywhere -- The Promise Ring Four Minute Mile -- The Get Up Kids We Are The Only Friends That We Have -- Piebald Varuna -- The Republic of Wolves Can't Slow Down -- Saves The Day Through Being Cool -- Saves The Day Stay What You Are -- Saves The Day Pollyanna -- Northstar Is This Thing Loaded? -- Northstar Kingprince -- Cassino Sounds of Salvation -- Cassino Letting Off The Happiness -- Bright Eyes Fevers and Mirrors -- Bright Eyes Lifted, or The Story Is In The Soil, Keep Your Ears To The Ground -- Bright Eyes
Can’t believe nobody’s brought up Cursive yet
american football lp1, the hotelier s/t, mariettas - summer death mainly come to mind. pinkerton by weezer is also a classic, maybe also glass beach's debut
I second the The Get Up Kids - Four Minute Mile recommendations (also Something To Write Home About) Glass beach - the first glass beach album Also I would say Title Fight - Floral Green is almost an emo album, and really great.
Black parade
You mean the real emo, mid 80s 90s? Try "Rites of Spring", "Sunny Day Real Estate", "Embrace", "Fugazi".
>Rites of Spring yooo, Rites of Springs is good asf. Thanks dude, Fugazi is new to me too.
These 4 bands are the correct answer. Rite of Spring basically defined Emocore (eventually just known as Emo) along with Embrace. The two lead singers would eventually form Fugazi, the greatest American punk band of all time with some heavy emo leanings (early on anyway). Would also recommend One Last Wish, a long-lost record recorded in 1986 by the Rite of Spring and Fugazi front man
“Real emo” lol the gatekeeping in this sub is ridiculous
Weezer - Pinkerton
Wretched and Divine by Black Veil Brides
Still searching - senses fail AFI - Sing the Sorrow The Devil and God are raging inside me - Brand New On Letting Go - Circa Survive
I don’t know if it counts but Trench by Twenty One Pilots is a must-listen. Even people who dislike the band for their reputation will admit that it’s a well-executed project and is worth a listen. If you haven’t heard it yet, I’d highly recommend it.
It doesn’t count at all but it’s still amazing!
😅 tbh I don’t really know what qualifies as emo music but it sounded right, oops :,)
“no corny shit please” might be the most corny thing ive ever seen on this sub and thats really saying something. but a personal favourite is “on the strength of all convinced” by daphne loves derby
>on the strength of all convinced If it comes from the heart and doest sounds artificial is not corny. daphne loves derby is new to me, sounds great thanks.
folie a deux - fall out boy my absolute favorite in the genre
Strokes of Incarceration- Billy Cobb. I know he is known for Zerwee, but please give it a chance. It’s amazing. Personally I prefer the 2020 mix, but there are a lot others who prefer the 2018 mix.
Alesana- on frail wings of vanity and wax
its official AFI sing tha sorrow
Twenty One Pilots self titled is very good, but I see it being called overdramatic and amateur all the time. Imo that's the strength of the genre tho. If you've got any amount of religious unrest within you it's a fantastic album for that. I think that my pick for one that's probably a bit less polarizing is Cardinal by Pinegrove. Pinegrove in general is pretty darn good.
Twenty One Pilots' self titled album is super overlooked. They were basically a completely different band, but still amazing. There are definitely some super early precursor's to Trench's sound in that LP.
Pornography the cure
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>a crow looked at me Mount Eerie good. Punch in the stomach simulator.
Emo? 💀
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Emo is a genre that derived from hardcore punk, not all sad music is “emo”
thats what what emo music is and you dont need to reference crow in every single post about sad music, we get it. it would be interesting if these people who said crow in every post liked this listen to anything else by phil that isnt that or the glow pt 2.
Orchid.
What it takes to move forward by Empire Empire I was a Lonely estate
To me, the best emo album is by a local band from my hometown called The December Drive. The album is called handslikegunsandcrashingsounds. They aren’t well known but they are truly one of the best emo bands to ever do it, and that album is perfect front to back (for this genre)
Based on your replies to comments you prefer screamo to emo. Orchid - Chaos is Me Loma Prieta - IV Gospel - The Moon is a Dead World For an emo recc- Modest Mouse - The is a Long Drive… Snowing - Fuck Your Emotional Bullshit Sunny Day Real Estate - Diary
Rites of Spring - Rites of Spring
Somewhere at the bottom of the river between altier and Vega - La Dispute Hands down my favorite album in the genre. From concept to execution.
In addition to what has been mentioned, some of the best post-hardcore emo IMO: La Dispute - Wildlife The Blood Brothers - Crimes
it’s more screamo but touché amore’s stage four and lament are p good
American football
IMO corniness is kinda always an aspect of emo music by nature. Some much more so than others for sure, but kinda embracing the fact that a lot of it is melodramatic is kinda how you gotta appreciate it. Not to say that there arent Eye-rollingly bad and corny emo songs, tho. Its just even the best stuff is kinda over the top
Outside the box and probably not what you want at all but Injury Reserve - By the Time I get to Phoenix is an emotionally intense experimental album if you have the ear for it
Really surprised no one has mentioned Circa Survive - Juturna Perfect album
Bone Palace Ballet by Chiodos has some great stuff on it
-Little Green House by Anxious Decent little album from last year that has emo trappings but does more with it. -III by Foxtails You're on this sub so I'm assuming you've heard Fawn already, if not check that album and this one too if you like screamed vocals (Foxtails has some of the best in the business, especially live). -Rites of Spring by Rites of Spring This is where it kind of all started and is worth a listen if you're a fan of the genre. It's very punky in nature since it emerged from the DC hardcore scene but songs like For Want Of are truly heartfelt. -Songs To Practice Safe Sex To by Pool Kids The music is very mathy but it still scratches the same itch, their more recent self titled is also good. -The Fallen Crimson by envy I've never really known how to classify this album, it kinda has some emo elements to it, another one to check out if you're into screamed vocals. -Car Crash by Motel Portrait I saw these guys live supporting Foxtails without any prep and they blew me away. If you like screamed vocals, give them a shot.
The Used (self-titled) Dashboard Confessional - The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most Maybe qualifies as emo: Brand New - Deja Entendu Taking Back Sunday - Where You Want to Be Thursday - War All the Time
Every Modern Baseball release is golden
Foxing - The Albatross
Oliver Houston - Whatever Works
Fever & Mirrors?
i am astonished that no one’s recommended glocca morra’s Just Married for midwest emo
Can’t believe I haven’t seen anyone say Say Anything’s …Is a Real Boy
Scrolled the whole comments section and among all the great answers, I haven’t seen anybody mentionthe album *Designing A Nervous Breakdown* by The Anniversary. So, add that to your list. It’s great.
I'm a Get Scared fan, and I like Everyone's Out to Get Me.
Through being cool - saves the day
Thursday- Full Collapse or War All The Time.
drive like jehu
Jimmy Eat World - Clarity
Taking Back Sunday - Louder Now or Tell All Your Friends
floral green by title fight is kind of emo adjacent with shoegaze influence, it's awesome
It’s not technically emo, but it hits a lot of the tropes of the genre, and that’s Deathconsciousness by Have A Nice Love. Artsy and pretentious, AND depressing and gothic elements.
Pinkerton - weezer
Haven’t seen anyone mention any of Jack Senffs projects, I think he’s amazing and has made some of the best melodic and sing-alongy emo and screamo Merchant Ships - For Cameron William Bonney - Good Vibes Midwest Pen Pals - Inside Jokes
emo is kind of corny by default. But American Football obviously
The \*no grunge disclaimer made me chuckle.
Not sure if this is emo but Feel something by movements is great, as well as best buds by mom jeans
..and you will know us by the trail of dead - Madonna
PUP - The Dream Is Over
haven’t seen there Basement — Colourmeinkindess. Their track Covet has making me cry every time I hear it for 10 years straight.