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The emo revival (also known as the post-emo revival, the
Midwestern emo Midwest emo (or Midwestern emo) refers to the emo scene and/or subgenre that developed in 1990s Midwestern United States. Employing unconventional vocal stylings, distinct guitar riffs and arpeggiated melodies, Midwest emo bands shifted away fro ...
revival, and fourth wave emo) was an underground
emo Emo is a rock music genre characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of and hardcore punk from the Washington D.C. hardcore punk scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore and pioneered b ...
movement which came about in the late 2000s to early 2010s. Groups of the emo revival largely abandon the style of the mainstream emo acts of the mid 2000s in favor of a style influenced by 1990s emo acts. The revival had largely dissolved by the mid 2010s.


History and characteristics

By the early 2010s emo had largely waned in commercial popularity. A number of bands that were popular during the mid 2000s either broke up or changed their sound. Meanwhile, an underground revival began to emerge with bands such as
Snowing Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...
and
Algernon Cadwallader Algernon Cadwallader is an American emo and math rock band from Yardley, Pennsylvania. They were originally active from 2005 to 2012. In 2022, the band regrouped and began touring again. ''Stereogum'' referred to the band as the "heroes of the e ...
being forerunners of the movement. Bands of the revival are influenced by the second wave emo acts from the
Midwestern emo Midwest emo (or Midwestern emo) refers to the emo scene and/or subgenre that developed in 1990s Midwestern United States. Employing unconventional vocal stylings, distinct guitar riffs and arpeggiated melodies, Midwest emo bands shifted away fro ...
scene of the 1990s and early 2000s. Bands often display a "DIY sound" and lyrical themes range from nostalgia to adulthood. Emo revival scenes have sprung up throughout the United States and United Kingdom, with notable scenes in cities such as Philadelphia which has produced important groups to the scene such as
Everyone Everywhere Everyone Everywhere is an American emo band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. History Everyone Everywhere formed in 2007. They have released two self-titled albums, two EPs, and one split with Into It. Over It. since then. Personnel *Brendan M ...
,
Modern Baseball Modern Baseball (MoBo) was an American emo band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania consisting of Bren Lukens, Jake Ewald, Sean Huber, and Ian Farmer. The band formed in 2012 at Drexel University and released their first album, ''Sports'', on Lame-O ...
,
Hop Along Hop Along is an American indie rock band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, formerly known as Hop Along, Queen Ansleis. History Hop Along began as an acoustic freak folk solo project known as Hop Along, Queen Ansleis in 2004, during Frances Quinl ...
,
Cayetana Cayetana is a Spanish feminine given name. It may refer to: * Cayetana (band) *Cayetana blanca, Spanish grape variety People * Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo (b. 1974), Spanish journalist and politician * Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 18th Duchess of ...
, Jank,
Marietta Marietta may refer to: Places in the United States *Marietta, Jacksonville, Florida *Marietta, Georgia, the largest US city named Marietta *Marietta, Illinois *Marietta, Indiana *Marietta, Kansas *Marietta, Minnesota *Marietta, Mississippi *Mar ...
,
Algernon Cadwallader Algernon Cadwallader is an American emo and math rock band from Yardley, Pennsylvania. They were originally active from 2005 to 2012. In 2022, the band regrouped and began touring again. ''Stereogum'' referred to the band as the "heroes of the e ...
, and
Snowing Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...
. Other important emo revival acts include
Citizen Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
, Title Fight,
The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die is an American indie rock band formed in Willimantic, Connecticut, in 2009. Following the release of several EPs and Split album, splits featuring original lead singer Thomas Diaz, t ...
,
Touché Amoré Touché Amoré is an American post-hardcore band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2007. The band consists of vocalist Jeremy Bolm, guitarists Clayton Stevens and Nick Steinhardt, bassist Tyler Kirby, and drummer Elliot Babin. Among other ...
,
Into It. Over It. Into It. Over It. is the indie rock solo project of the Chicago, Illinois-based musician Evan Thomas Weiss. It is considered one of the top acts in the emo revival scene of the 2010s. History Evan Weiss grew up in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. His ...
,
Tiny Moving Parts Tiny Moving Parts is an American rock band from Benson, Minnesota. Formed by brothers William and Matthew Chevalier, and their cousin Dylan Mattheisen, the band has released eight studio albums since their 2008 formation in junior high. Their epo ...
,
Foxing Foxing is an age-related process of deterioration that causes spots and browning on old paper documents such as books, postage stamps, old paper money and certificates. The name may derive from the fox-like reddish-brown color of the stains, or ...
,
The Front Bottoms The Front Bottoms are an American rock band from Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey consisting of lead vocalist and guitarist Brian Sella and drummer Mat Uychich. History The group formed in 2006 in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey. In August 2007, after ...
, Turnover,
Tigers Jaw Tigers Jaw is an American rock band from Scranton, Pennsylvania, formed in 2005. Their first album, ''Belongs to the Dead'', was released in 2006. They released a 7-inch single, "Spirit Desire", in 2009, on Tiny Engines. They released two more ...
, Dads,
Dowsing Dowsing is a type of divination employed in attempts to locate ground water, buried metals or ores, gemstones, oil, claimed radiations (radiesthesia),As translated from one preface of the Kassel experiments, "roughly 10,000 active dowsers in Ge ...
,
Joyce Manor Joyce Manor is an American punk rock band from Torrance, California, formed in 2008. The band consists of lead vocalist/guitarist Barry Johnson, guitarist Chase Knobbe, and bassist/backing vocalist Matt Ebert. Since their formation, the band hav ...
,
Joie De Vivre ( , ; "joy of living") is a French phrase often used in English to express a cheerful enjoyment of life, an exultation of spirit. It "can be a joy of conversation, joy of eating, joy of anything one might do… And ''joie de vivre'' may be ...
, My Heart To Joy, Empire! Empire! (I Was a Lonely Estate), Dikembe, Crash of Rhinos,
A Great Big Pile Of Leaves A Great Big Pile of Leaves is an American indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York (state), New York, currently signed to Topshelf Records. It was founded by guitarist/singer Pete Weiland and drummer Tyler Soucy, who began creating and recording the ...
,
Balance and Composure Balance and Composure was an American alternative rock band from Doylestown, Pennsylvania. They formed in the winter of 2007, after the breakup of two local Doylestown bands. The band's music was often suggested having similarities to Title Fig ...
,
OWEL OWEL is an alternative indie rock band formed in Woodbridge, NJ in late 2012. The band currently consists of Jay Sakong (lead vocal, guitar, keys), Nunzio Moudatsos (bass, vocals), Seamus O'Connor (guitar, keys, vocals), Jane Park (violin, viola ...
,
You Blew It! You Blew It! was an American emo quintet based in Orlando, Florida. The band was formed in 2009 by Tanner Jones, Timothy Flynn, and Matt Messore. History In 2012, the band released their debut LP, '' Grow Up, Dude'' under Topshelf Records. Pri ...
,
The Brave Little Abacus The Brave Little Abacus (or simply Brave Little Abacus) was an American emo band formed in Sandown, New Hampshire, in 2007. The band consisted of vocalist, guitarist, and drummer Adam Demirjian, bassist Andrew Ryan, and keyboardist Zach Kelly-One ...
and
the Hotelier The Hotelier is an American indie rock band from Worcester, Massachusetts, currently signed with Dreams of Field Recordings. The band's second album, '' Home, Like Noplace Is There'', has been featured on Spin's "The 101 Best Albums of the 2010s ...
. This revival has also been credited with, even further, expanding the style of emo, with many bands introducing new elements and sounds while keeping the "classic twinkly emo sound". Since the emo revival began in the early 2010, various emo bands from the 1990s and early 2000s have reunited for reunion tours or permanent reunions
American Football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
,
Cap'n Jazz Cap'n Jazz (sometimes stylised as caP'n Jazz) was an American emo band formed in Chicago in 1989 by brothers Tim and Mike Kinsella, who were joined by Sam Zurick and Victor Villarreal. After a number of name changes and the addition of guitaris ...
,
The Anniversary The Anniversary is an American band formed in Lawrence, Kansas, in 1997 by Josh Berwanger, James David, Christian Jankowski, Adrianne Verhoeven and Justin Roelofs. The Anniversary was the solidification of a line-up that had been in flux for a ...
,
Braid A braid (also referred to as a plait) is a complex structure or pattern formed by interlacing two or more strands of flexible material such as textile yarns, wire, or hair. The simplest and most common version is a flat, solid, three-strande ...
,
Mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. ( ...
, and
The Promise Ring The Promise Ring was an American rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that is recognized as part of the second wave of emo. Among various other EPs and singles, the band released four studio albums during their initial run: '' 30° Everywhere'' ...
. During the mid 2010s, the revival had largely begun to dissolve, although bands such as
Hot Mulligan Hot Mulligan is an American post-emo band from Lansing, Michigan. History In 2015, Hot Mulligan released two EPs titled ''Fenton'' and ''Honest & Cunning'' via Michigan based label Save Your Generation Records''.'' After signing to No Sleep Rec ...
and Origami Angel continue to produce underground emo music.


Screamo revival

In the early 2010s the term
screamo Screamo (also referred to as skramz) is an aggressive subgenre of emo that emerged in the early 1990s and emphasizes "willfully experimental dissonance and dynamics".Jason Heller, "Feast of Reason". ''Denver Westword'', June 20, 2002Access date: ...
began to be largely reclaimed by a new crop of do-it-yourself bands, with many screamo acts, like
Loma Prieta Loma Prieta (from Spanish ''loma'' -hill, ''prieta'' -dark) is high and is the highest peak in the Santa Cruz Mountains in Northern California. Although the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake was named for this mountain, the actual epicenter was fi ...
,
Pianos Become the Teeth Pianos Become the Teeth are an American band from Baltimore, Maryland, formed in 2006. Their early musical style has been inspired by post-rock and early screamo acts, and they are a part of a post-hardcore music movement also represented by Tou ...
,
La Dispute :''This is for the Marivaux play, for the band, see La Dispute (band).'' ''La Dispute'' is a prose comedy written by Pierre de Marivaux, shown for the first time on 19 October 1744 by the Théâtre-Italien in the Hôtel de Bourgogne. The story i ...
, and Touché Amoré releasing records on fairly large independent labels such as Deathwish Inc. In 2011 ''Alternative Press'' noted that
La Dispute :''This is for the Marivaux play, for the band, see La Dispute (band).'' ''La Dispute'' is a prose comedy written by Pierre de Marivaux, shown for the first time on 19 October 1744 by the Théâtre-Italien in the Hôtel de Bourgogne. The story i ...
is "at the forefront of a traditional-screamo revival" for their critically acclaimed release ''Wildlife''. They are a part of a group of stylistically similar screamo-revival bands self-defined as "The Wave," made up of Touché Amoré, La Dispute,
Defeater A defeater of a belief is evidence that this belief is false. Defeaters are of particular interest to epistemology since they affect whether a belief is justified. An important distinction is between undercutting and rebutting defeaters. Undercu ...
, Pianos Become the Teeth, and
Make Do and Mend Make Do and Mend was an American post-hardcore band from West Hartford, Connecticut, that formed in 2006, who relocated to Boston, Massachusetts. They released 2 EPs on Panic Records, a split with Touché Amoré and three full-length albums. Whil ...
. Some notable post-hardcore outfits have also been included as part of the screamo revival including
Before Their Eyes Before Their Eyes is an American post-hardcore band from Findlay, Ohio, United States. The band is currently signed to InVogue Records. History Early years (2006-2011) The band was founded by vocalist Nick Moore and James Nahorny in 2006. The ...
,
The Ongoing Concept The Ongoing Concept is a heavy metal music, metal band from Rathdrum, Idaho, formed by three brothers and their childhood friend in 2009. They released an independent EP in 2010 entitled ''What Is My Destiny'', an independent EP in 2011, ''Arrow ...
, Too Close to Touch, I Am Terrified and
Saosin Saosin is an American rock band formed in Orange County, California in 2003 by Beau Burchell, Justin Shekoski, Zach Kennedy, and Anthony Green. The band released their first EP, '' Translating the Name'', in 2003. That year, vocalist Anthony G ...
. Alternative Press has referred to this style as the "pop-screamo revival", citing bands such as
Senses Fail Senses Fail is an American rock band formed in Ridgewood, New Jersey, in 2001. Founded by vocalist James "Buddy" Nielsen, drummer Dan Trapp, guitarists Garrett Zablocki and Dave Miller, and bassist James Gill (replaced by Mike Glita shortly afte ...
, Silverstein,
The Used The Used is an American rock band from Orem, Utah, that formed in 2001. The group consists of vocalist Bert McCracken, bassist Jeph Howard, drummer Dan Whitesides, and guitarist Joey Bradford. Former members include Quinn Allman, Branden Stei ...
,
Hawthorne Heights Hawthorne Heights, formerly A Day in the Life, is an American rock band from Dayton, Ohio, formed in 2001. Their lineup currently consists of JT Woodruff (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Matt Ridenour (bass guitar, backing vocals), Mark McMillon (l ...
,
Chiodos Chiodos (, ) was an American post-hardcore band from Davison, Michigan. Formed in 2001, the group was originally known as “The Light-hearted Carpet Knights” before changing their name to "The Chiodos Bros," the band's name was a tribute to fi ...
,
Thursday Thursday is the Names of the days of the week, day of the week between Wednesday and Friday. According to the ISO 8601 international standard, it is the fourth day of the week. In countries which adopt the "Sunday-first" convention, it is the fi ...
,
From First to Last From First to Last is an American post-hardcore band based in the Los Angeles Area and Tampa, Florida. Formed by Matt Good, Scott Oord, and Parker Nelms in November 1999, the current line-up consists of Matt Good (lead guitar, vocals), Sonny M ...
,
Thrice Thrice is an American rock band from Irvine, California, formed in 1998. The group was founded by guitarist/vocalist Dustin Kensrue and lead guitarist Teppei Teranishi while they were in high school. Early in their career, the band was known ...
and
Finch The true finches are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. Finches have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage. They occupy a great range of habitats where they are usua ...
as massive influences on the sound. In August 2018, ''
Noisey ''Vice'' (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian-American magazine focused on lifestyle, arts, culture, and news/politics. Founded in 1994 in Montreal as an alternative punk magazine, the founders later launched the youth media company Vice Media, ...
'' writer Dan Ozzi declared that it was the "Summer of Screamo" in a month-long series documenting screamo acts pushing the genre forward following the decline in popularity of "The Wave," as well as the reunions of seminal bands such as
Pg. 99 Pg. 99 (also spelled pageninetynine) was a screamo band from Sterling, Virginia, a town on the outskirts of Washington, D.C. They are considered one of the pioneers of screamo. The band formed as a six-piece in late 1997 and broke up as an eig ...
,
Majority Rule Majority rule is a principle that means the decision-making power belongs to the group that has the most members. In politics, majority rule requires the deciding vote to have majority, that is, more than half the votes. It is the binary deci ...
,
City of Caterpillar City of Caterpillar is an American post-hardcore band from Richmond, Virginia, formed in 2000. They released a split with Pg. 99, one studio album, and a full-length compilation of demos and live tracks. Their songs, some of which are over 10 m ...
, and
Jeromes Dream Jeromes Dream is a screamo band from Connecticut, originally active from 1997 to 2001, and again from 2018 onwards. History Jeromes Dream began on September 13, 1997 after a short jam session between bassist Jeff Smith, guitarist Nick Antonopoul ...
. Groups highlighted in this coverage, including Respire, Ostraca, Portrayal of Guilt, Soul Glo, I Hate Sex, and Infant Island, had generally received positive press from large publications, but were not as widely successful as their predecessors. ''Noisey'' also documented that, despite its loss of mainstream popularity and continued hold in North American scenes, particularly
Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...
, screamo had become a more international movement; notably spreading to Japan, France, and Sweden with groups including Heaven in Her Arms,
Birds in Row Birds in Row is a French hardcore punk band that formed in 2009 in Laval and is composed of three members, "T.", "Q." and "B.". They signed to Deathwish Inc. in 2011 and released their debut album '' You, Me & the Violence'' in 2012. History Bi ...
, and Suffocate for Fuck Sake, respectively. Also in 2018,
Vein Veins are blood vessels in humans and most other animals that carry blood towards the heart. Most veins carry deoxygenated blood from the tissues back to the heart; exceptions are the pulmonary and umbilical veins, both of which carry oxygenated b ...
released their debut album '' Errorzone'' to critical acclaim and commercial success, bringing together elements of screamo,
hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...
, and
nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, sometimes called aggro-metal) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk, industrial, and grunge. Nu met ...
. The band
SeeYouSpaceCowboy SeeYouSpaceCowboy (formerly stylized as SeeYouSpaceCowboy...) is an American hardcore punk band formed in San Diego, California, in 2016. It was founded by vocalist Connie Sgarbossa, drummer Ethan Sgarbossa and guitarist Taylor Allen. Their name ...
has been associated with "the sassy screamo revival" and takes influence from screamo/post-hardcore band The Blood Brothers.


Criticism of the term

The term "emo revival" has been the cause of controversy. Numerous artists and journalists have stated that it is not a revival at all and people have simply stopped paying attention to underground emo. In 2013, Evan Weiss stated, “It's funny that people are only noticing it now because I feel like that revival has been happening for the last six years...It doesn't seem new to me, but if it's new to them, let them enjoy it."


References

{{Emo Emo 2010s in music 2010s fads and trends Alternative rock genres Indie rock Punk rock genres Post-hardcore Pop punk American styles of music American rock music genres British styles of music British rock music genres Retro-style music