Midwest emo

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Midwest emo (or Midwestern emo [1] ) is a subgenre [2] and scene of emo music that emerged in the Midwestern United States during the 1990s. Employing unconventional vocal stylings, distinct guitar riffs and arpeggiated melodies, [3] Midwest emo bands shifted away from the genre's hardcore punk roots and drew on indie rock and math rock approaches. [4] According to the author and critic Andy Greenwald, "this was the period when emo earned many, if not all, of the stereotypes that have lasted to this day: boy-driven, glasses-wearing, overly sensitive, overly brainy, chiming-guitar-driven college music." [5] Midwest emo is sometimes used interchangeably with second-wave emo, [6] and when referenced as a genre is interchangeable with indie emo. [7] While Midwest emo was initially associated to be music by the region, its sound and aesthetic gradually spread beyond the region. The style was adopted by artists across the United States and internationally. [8]

Contents

Characteristics

American Football merged Midwest emo with elements of jazz and math rock Mike Kinsella, American Football - First Avenue - Minnesota - Band - Reunion 5 17.jpg
American Football merged Midwest emo with elements of jazz and math rock

According to The Chicago Reader critic Leor Galil, the second-wave bands of the Midwest emo scene "transformed the angular fury of D.C. emo into something malleable, melodic, and cathartic—its common features included cycling guitar parts, chugging bass lines, and unconventional singing that sounded like a sweet neighbor kid with no vocal training but plenty of heart." [9]

Incorporating elements from indie rock, the genre also features "gloomy chord progressions" [10] and arpeggiated guitar melodies, [3] which according to The Post , results in "a much less intense version of emo." Midwest emo is also commonly associated with the use of math rock elements, which were utilized by 1990s bands such as Sunny Day Real Estate and American Football to "create the backbone" of the subgenre. [11] Texas Is the Reason guitarist Norman Brannon has stated that the 1993 albums The Problem with Me by Seam, In on the Kill Taker by Fugazi, and On the Mouth by Superchunk were particularly influential on the development of Midwest emo and have been "name-checked by every second-wave emo band I knew". [12] Post-hardcore band Jawbox also impacted the sound of Midwest emo, being cited as an influence by such bands as Braid, Elliott, and the Jazz June. [13] [14] [15]

The definable traits of the Midwest emo have proven to be easily fused with other genres of underground independent music. Revival bands including The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die mixed the Midwestern emo sound with genres such as post-rock and orchestral music. [16] Other outfits, including Patterns Make Sunrise, The Pennikurvers, and Everyone Asked About You, introduced elements of twee pop and indie pop into the sound of Midwest emo. [17] This proved influential to the aforementioned emo revival scene, with groups like Dowsing and Empire! Empire! (I Was a Lonely Estate) taking a similar approach. Midwest emo has also been described as a "whole band potluck" [18] with several bands bringing in experimental sounds to develop the genre. The result is "a musical casserole of introspective lyrics, DIY sprinkles, and heartfelt garnishes that cooked up the signature Midwest Emo scene, where everyone brought their own instruments to the party". [18] This style of shared sound and experimentation in the scene helped to develop the scene in the Midwest, where many alternative people[ who? ] feel there is a lack of culture. [19]

History

Precursors (1983–1991)

As early as 1983 Squirrel Bait from Louisville, Kentucky, were creating what PunkNews called "early Midwestern emotional hardcore" noting "their influence can be heard in many contemporary pop-punk and emo bands". [20] AllMusic writer Steve Huey credited their music as "foreshadow[ing] the intense prog-punk that would become one wing of the emo movement". [21] The same year, Honor Role were formed in Indiana, [22] the band played a major part in the establishing of the Chicago hardcore and emo scene. [23] The band was later based in Richmond, Virginia, in reference to which Spin writer Andrew Beaujon noted the band "happened a little too early and a little too far south", to enter into traditional emo canon. [24]

Articles of Faith's posthumously released In This Life (1987) was Chicago's first emo record. [25] Previously playing a conventional hardcore punk sound, the album saw the band experimenting with introspective lyrics and elements of indie rock, [26] and would go on to influence the rise of emo and indie rock in the city. [26] [25] AllMusic credited it as "kick-starting the emocore sound". [27]

Louisville band Slint created experimental music that Spin called "King Crimson gone emo", [28] they left an influence upon the subsequent fusion of emo and math rock. [29]

Origins and popularity (1991–2000)

Cap'n Jazz in 2010 Capn-jazz.jpg
Cap'n Jazz in 2010

In the western suburbs of Chicago, particularly Downers Grove, Illinois, an emo scene formed in the early 1990s, centred around Shakefork Records, including the bands Ivy League, Friction and Manneqvin Hand. The earliest of these bands was Gauge, who created a distinct, Midwestern take upon emo that was informed by hard rock and was the beginning of the Midwest emo genre, [30] making use of elements of math rock in order to create tension. [31] By 1994, the Midwest emo scene had begun to gain significant attention, largely due to their influence, [32] inspiring the sounds of Braid, Cap'n Jazz, Joan of Arc and the Promise Ring. [33] [32] That same year Gauge disbanded. [32]

The Midwest emo scene came to prominence starting in the mid-1990s with notable additional bands including Cursive, [34] Rainer Maria, [35] and the Get Up Kids, [36] Braid was as an important act to propel the Midwest emo sound across the United States. [37] [38] at the same time, some first wave emo bands within the Midwest began to change their style in favor of the new Midwest emo style, including Falling Forward, who became Elliot; [39] [40] and Split Lip who became Chamberlain. [41] Some of the acts to practice the sound were originally not from the Midwestern United States, with Sunny Day Real Estate being from Washington and Mineralbeing from Texas. [36] According to Andy Greenwald, "this was the period when emo earned many, if not all, of the stereotypes that have lasted to this day: boy-driven, glasses-wearing, overly sensitive, overly brainy, chiming-guitar-driven college music." [42]

The Promise Ring's music took a slower, smoother, pop punk approach to riffs, blending them with singer Davey von Bohlen's imagist lyrics delivered in a froggy croon and pronounced lisp and playing shows in basements and VFW halls. [43] Jade Tree released their debut album, 30° Everywhere , in 1996; it sold tens of thousands of copies and was successful by independent standards. [44] The Get Up Kids sold over 15,000 copies of their debut album, Four Minute Mile (1997), before signing with Vagrant. The label promoted them aggressively, sending them on tours opening for Green Day and Weezer. [45] Their 1999 album, Something to Write Home About , reaching number 31 on Billboard 's Top Heatseekers chart. [46]

American Football were one of the most defining bands of the late 1990s Midwest emo scene and subgenre. [9] [47] [48] The band created a distinct sound by merging emo with jaggling guitars and elements of jazz, pop, [49] math rock and slowcore. [4] One distinct technique of their music was the use of "twinkly" guitar, an element which has led to genre label "twinkle emo" or "twinkle daddies". [50] [51] Some other Midwest emo bands began embracing elements of post-rock and noise rock, in the case of Karate, the Van Pelt, Joan of Arc and the Shyness Clinic. [52]

According to scholar Peter Trigg, second wave emo ended in the year 2000. [53]

Revival (2007–2018)

Algernon Cadwallader pioneered a Midwest emo revival in the late 2000s Algernon Cadwallader.jpg
Algernon Cadwallader pioneered a Midwest emo revival in the late 2000s

In the mid-to late 2000s, a revival of the Midwest emo sound was spearheaded by the Pennsylvania-based groups Tigers Jaw, [54] Glocca Morra, [55] Snowing and Algernon Cadwallader and the English band TTNG. [56] Under their influence, underground emo scenes formed across the United States in such localities as West Virginia, Willimantic, Connecticut and Chicago. [55] Notable fourth-wave acts from the Chicago scene included Into It. Over It., CSTVT, Pet Symmetry, Joie de Vivre, Their / They're / There, Lifted Bells, [57] Camping in Alaska, [58] Oliver Houston, [59] and Dowsing. [60] Fourth-wave emo had become a fully-realised movement by 2011. [54] Philadelphia's scene remained prominent throughout the wave, contributing bands such as Everyone Everywhere, Modern Baseball, [61] Hop Along, [55] Jank, [62] Balance and Composure, and mewithoutYou. [63]

By 2013, the Midwest emo revival had become a dominant force in underground music. The year saw high profile by Balance and Composure, Brave Bird, Crash of Rhinos, Foxing, the Front Bottoms, Little Big League and the World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die. [64] During the movement, various emo bands from the 1990s and early 2000s have reunited for reunion tours or permanent reunions American Football and the Get-Up Kids. [65]

In the 2020s, Midwest emo became a meme on TikTok with videos parodying the genre's stylings. This includes the use of long naming schemes, relationships, and poor singing quality. [66]

See also

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Trefor, Cai. "13 Beautiful Photos of American Football At Shepherd's Bush Empire, 11/02/2017". Gigwise . Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  2. ↑ "In its fourth wave, emo is revived and thriving". 15 August 2018.
  3. 1 2 Lowe, Robert (February 14, 2013). "Funeral Advantage – Demo (staff review)". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  4. 1 2 Hunter, Nikk; Covert, William (August 16, 2015). "The History Of Math Rock Pt 1: "So I Guess Black Flag Is 'Math Rock' Now?!"". Fecking Bahamas. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  5. ↑ Greenwald, pp. 34–35.
  6. ↑ "Is Emo Revival Really a Thing?".
  7. ↑ Козлов, Владимир [in Russian] (May 25, 2009). ЭМО (in Russian). Амфора. ISBN   9785457005969. The Promise Ring, Braid, Elliott, Bright Eyes, Cursive, The Get Up Kids. Назвать эти группы «эмо-кором» уже было нельзя – слишком далеко их звучание ушло от хардкора начала восьмидесятых. Некоторые любители углубиться в терминологию даже придумали разделение на хардкор-эмо – группы первой волны – и инди-эмо – вторая волна.[The Promise Ring, Braid, Elliott, Bright Eyes, Cursive, The Get Up Kids. Calling these groups "emo-core" is not possible - it is far too socially removed from the hardcore of the early eighties. Some who delve into the terminology even invented division into emo (first wave groups) and indie emo (second wave).]
  8. ↑ ""We Pretty Much Whine About the Same Things": Emo in Asia". Bandcamp Daily. 2016-10-20. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  9. 1 2 Galil, Leor (August 5, 2013). "Midwestern emo catches its second wind". The Chicago Reader . Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  10. ↑ Perry, Cameron (February 8, 2017). "Melbourne Artist Fractures Channels Midwest Emo On "Time Frame"". The Fader . Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Origins of Midwest emo". Origins of Midwest emo - The Post. Retrieved 2025-03-29.
  12. ↑ Brannon, Norman (May 6, 2015). "Norman Brannon (Texas Is the Reason) Talks Mac McCaughan's Non-Believers". Talkhouse. Archived from the original on September 29, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  13. ↑ "BRAID". Reggies Chicago. July 25, 2013. Archived from the original on May 18, 2023. Retrieved April 2, 2024. Braid started writing songs that combined the sounds of DC with those of the Bay Area. 'We would soak up and study pretty much anything on Dischord,' [Bob Nanna] says. 'Anytime any of those bands like—Fugazi, Nation of Ulysses, Shudder to Think, or Jawbox—came anywhere near Chicago, we were there.' In addition to the music, Nanna was obsessed with the energy that these bands expressed onstage. 'But Braid was also equal parts of music coming out of the Bay Area...'
  14. ↑ "Elliott 14/12/05 - Mail". metalorgie.com. December 2005. Archived from the original on February 16, 2024. Retrieved February 16, 2024. [I think it is obvious and easily perceptible that our influences have evolved over the years and changes in line up. We moved from music incorporating post hardcore elements on US Songs (inspired by Quicksand, Jawbox, Sunny Day [Real Estate], etc.)...]
  15. ↑ Anderl, Timothy (September 16, 2013). "When The Drums Kick In…Again; an interview with Andrew and Bryan of The Jazz June". Ghettoblaster Magazine. Archived from the original on November 29, 2022. Retrieved July 4, 2024. When I listen to the old Jazz June songs now I can hear elements from bands like Jawbox, Archers of Loaf and Superchunk that were direct influences on us.
  16. ↑ Cohen, Ian (April 29, 2014). "Don't Call It an Emo Revival". Pitchfork . Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  17. ↑ "Review: Everyone Asked About You – Everyone Asked About You | Sputnikmusic". www.sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  18. 1 2 Edge, Moth (4 October 2023). "Around the Pit: What is Midwest Emo?". Scene Pensacola. Retrieved 17 March 2025.
  19. ↑ Mays, Duncan (6 November 2024). "Midwest Emo, Accidentally Filling the Gap in Midwest Culture Since the Mid-90s". The Purdue Exponent . West Lafayette, Indiana: Purdue University . Retrieved 17 March 2025.
  20. ↑ johnathon1069 (20 March 2022). "Squirrel Bait Skag Heaven (1987)" . Retrieved 8 October 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  21. ↑ Huey, Steve. "Squirrel Bait Biography by Steve Huey". AllMusic . Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  22. ↑ Blush, Steven (2010). American hardcore: a tribal history (2. ed.). New York: Feral House. p. 394. ISBN   978-1932595895. GRAVEN IMAGE appeared on 1983's searing Kicked Out Of The Scene 7" EP and on a split tape with HONOR ROLE (who began in Indiana as Battered Youth) called Your Skull Is My Bowl.
  23. ↑ Strickler, Yancey. "Album Review by Yancey Strickler". AllMusic . Retrieved 10 October 2025.
  24. ↑ Beaujon, Andrew (November 1999). "Emo Essentials". Spin . 09 HONOR ROLE
    Album (Merge, 1997)
    Honor Role happened a little too early and a little too far south (Richmond) to be considered real emo. But the songs on this compilation show why Bob Schick's awkwardly confessional, mostly spoken vocals and Pen Rollings' fluid guitar playing still influence emo bands.
  25. 1 2 "Chicago Emo Archive – Articles of Faith". 28 February 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2025.
  26. 1 2 McPheeters, Sam (7 October 2010). "For the Faithful". Chicago Reader . Retrieved 10 October 2025.
  27. ↑ True, Chris. "Articles of Faith Biography by Chris True". AllMusic . Retrieved 10 October 2025.
  28. ↑ "100 Greatest Albums 1985–2005". Spin : 92. Jul 2005. 94
    SLINT Spiderland
    TOUCH AND GO, 1991
    A mysterious little record that bub- bled up from Louisville, Kentucky (and seminal punk outfit Squirrel Bait), it sounds kinda like mid-'70s King Crimson gone emo: screeching guitar chords and gorgeous note-spinning in odd-metered instrumentals speckled with words both spoken and sung. Guitarist Dave Pajo would later help create Tortoise, whose "post-rock" is encoded here. Recently reunited for a one-shot tour, Slint found a cult in the tens of thousands. Then they broke up again, wisely letting the mystery be. W.H.
  29. ↑ Sacher, Andrew. "Slint's 'Spiderland' turns 30 -- a look back on the album that created a genre and remains timeless". Brooklyn Vegan . Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  30. ↑ Golin, Matt. GAUGE:153 (Documentary). Event occurs at 4m36s. Jonathan Scott: They [Gauge] were the first band doing that kind of thing in the Midwest
    Rob Roy Campbell: When Gauge came along it was kind of like a homage to the whole D.C. thing I think. Chicago didn't have any music that was in that vein...
    Scott Shellman: All of us growing up were just kind of like in love with Dischord Records and they took what they were doing on the east coast and kind of like Midwestern-ized it for us.
    Scott Shellman: There was a lot of pop-punk stuff, a lot of hardcore, but there wasn't really anything in the kind of like hard rock, two Marshall amps, Gibson SG sound...
    Jonathan Scott: And we all started bands around the same time around the Shakeworth scene in Downers Grove... it was a really really important scene for a lot of bands and I think a lot of the way the Midwest emo scene turned out.
    Bob Nanna: The western suburban scene was a pretty amazing, close knit group of people and bands, basically centred around the Shakewroth records label...
    [On screen are Shakefork Records releases: Friction - Makeshift; Gauge - Blank; Ivy League - Gub; Manneqvin Hand - Jow.]
  31. ↑ Golin, Matt. GAUGE:153 (Documentary). Event occurs at 10m30s. Tim Kinsella: A lot of other math rock bands that were happening at the time, seemed like the math qualities were for the sake of like 'We're gonna learn how to play our instruments', but Gauge was always twisting their songs in these complex ways towards an end of tension and release.
  32. 1 2 3 Golin, Matt. GAUGE:153 (Documentary). Event occurs at 26m30s. Jonathon Scott: They called it quits in '94, and that was right when that stuff was taking off.
    Scott "Gub" Conway:Braid, Cap'n Jazz, Friction... Promised Ring, Hey Mercedes. There was all these bands that formulated out of all this scene that we were involved with and grew into this really really cool thing...
    Jason Dummeldinger: They really pioneered that movement and they didn't really get to reap the benefits of what it became and see it all come to fruition.
  33. ↑ Golin, Matt. GAUGE:153 (Documentary). Event occurs at 21m45s. Bob Nanna: I look to Gauge constantly and consistently all the time because they were so, so inspirational.
    Tim Kinsella: Unquantifiably I think Gauge was the biggest inspiration on Cap'n Jazz, like we were just trying to sound like Gauge.
    Mike Kinsella: Cap'n Jazz, Joan of Arc or like Owls was another band we were in, a lot of counting, and I think that all sort of, you can trace that all back to Gauge.
  34. ↑ Bruno, Franklin (August 2000). "Cursive – Domestica". CMJ (84): 56.
  35. ↑ Gwee, Karen (May 3, 2018). "An interview with Rainer Maria about their latest album S/T, Midwest emo and more". Bandwagon. Archived from the original on April 19, 2021. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  36. 1 2 Raymer, Miles (August 9, 2013). "On Mineral and midwestern emo's second wave". The Chicago Reader . Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  37. ↑ Osmon, Erin (October 24, 2013). "Chicago Has a New Emo Rock Scene (Again)". Chicago . Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  38. ↑ Green, Stuart (March 1, 2000). "Braid – Movie Music Vol. 2". Exclaim! . Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  39. ↑ ANDERL, TIMOTHY (20 September 2022). "Pre-Elliott Post-Hardcore Band Falling Forward Announces Remastered Anthology" . Retrieved 10 October 2025.
  40. ↑ Sacher, Andrew. "Elliott reunite! Louisville emo vets announce first show in 19 years: Furnace Fest". Brooklyn Vegan . Retrieved 10 October 2025.
  41. ↑ Madden, Amy Fleisher (23 November 2023). Negatives: A Photographic Archive of Emo (1996-2006). Chronicle Books. p. 50. ISBN   978-1797220994. Once upon a time, there was a band called Split Lip. Everyone loved Split Lip. On the tail end of the first wave of emo, they were Midwest post-hardcore darlings and heavily influenced the second wave. Then Split Lip decided that they wanted to change their sound and their name, and so Chamberlain was born.
  42. ↑ Greenwald 2003, pp. 34–35.
  43. ↑ Greenwald 2003, pp. 35–36.
  44. ↑ Greenwald 2003, p. 36.
  45. ↑ Greenwald 2003, pp. 77–78.
  46. ↑ "Heatseekers: Something to Write Home About". Billboard charts. Archived from the original on June 10, 2009. Retrieved March 25, 2009.
  47. ↑ Trefor, Cai (February 13, 2017). "13 Beautiful Photos of American Football At Shepherd's Bush Empire, 11/02/2017". Gigwise . Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  48. ↑ Bruton, Michelle (15 August 2018). "In its fourth wave, emo is revived and thriving". FanSided . Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  49. ↑ Sendra, Tim. "American Football Bio". AllMusic. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  50. ↑ Thee, Marcel. "Falls & Forests to rock Jakarta's emo fans" . Retrieved 11 October 2025.
  51. ↑ Hill, John. "THE 10 GREATEST GUITAR GODS OF EMO". Loudwire . Retrieved 11 October 2025.
  52. ↑ Greenwald 2003, p. 40.
  53. ↑ Trigg, Peter (September 6, 2025). "Popular Listening as Method: A Feminist Affective Analysis of Third-Wave Emo". Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Depository. 10908: 56. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
  54. 1 2 Davino, Bianca (18 February 2020). "From 'Three Cheers' To 'Bleed American': The 10 Most Important Emo Albums". Junkee . Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  55. 1 2 3 "30 Best Emo Revival Albums, Ranked". Spin . Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  56. ↑ "TTNG : Disappointment Island". Treblezine.co. 18 July 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  57. ↑ Osmon, Erin (24 October 2013). "Chicago Has a New Emo Rock Scene (Again)" . Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  58. ↑ "Midwest Emo pioneers CAMPING IN ALASKA share top 10 influentian albums, new acoustic EP streaming". IDIOTEQ.com. 31 October 2022. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  59. ↑ Gaca, Anna (January 23, 2017). "New Music: Oliver Houston Embrace Classic Midwestern Emo on Whatever Works". Spin . Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  60. ↑ "Dowsing - I Don't Even Care Anymore". Alternative Press. August 14, 2013. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  61. ↑ Pro, Maria. "Is Emo Revival Really a Thing?". Ultimate Guitar . Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  62. ↑ "JANK Awkward Pop Songs (2015)". 2 February 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  63. ↑ Jay, Melannie. "What the Break–ups of Philly's Biggest Emo Bands Means for the Scene". 34th Street Magazine . Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  64. ↑ Sacher, Andrew (17 January 2023). "25 Classic Emo & Post-Hardcore Albums Turning 10 in 2023". Brooklyn Vegan . Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  65. ↑ "103 Days That Shaped Music in the 2010s The songs and shows and beef and overdue cancellations and heartbreaking losses and so much more". Vulture . 31 December 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  66. ↑ Galil, Leor (2024-03-20). "Midwest emo becomes a meme". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2024-03-21.

Bibliography

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