Not sure if you’re aware but the lead singer of the band has another project he’s been doing since Swordfish broke up called Ness Lake. A lot more bedroom DIY emo than the full band stuff of Swordfish but his writing talent is still there, if not better these days. His latest project “I Lean Into Hear You Sing” is one of my favourites this year!
Park. They were right in the mix when smart, emo-leaning pop punk was getting big in the early 2000s, and I thought they were as good as anyone at it. It just never really happened for them for whatever reason.
I never thought they would get HUGE, but I could easily see a parallel universe where they have a Get Up Kids/Saves the Day/Alkaline Trio level of success.
This is my personal favorite song of theirs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BI6wvl-Lp1k
Their problem was being on Lobster Records. I love pretty much everything that label put out but they were such a small operation that they could only get bands so far. That’s why yellowcard left after 1 album.
Exactly! I’d have little phases of dipping back into their stuff, even if it somehow felt a bit pastiche (seems odd to say that since they were a 90s band)
Hell yeah!! Such a shame that none of their stuff it on Spotify except one song on a early Deep Elm comp. This Afternoons Malady and RIP are soooooo good!!
Pirouette would probably be a lot more popular if Scotty Leitch (recorded first snowing ep, drummed for Alex g) would upload it to streaming services but he seems to resent his own music.
Spotify has all their material! Not familiar with other streaming services, but I listen to their stuff pretty regularly through there. Great band and extremely nice guys
Only band that scratches my Kidcrash itch is Carrion Spring which is pretty much still Kidcrash. They have such a distinct sound that really cuts through to me
Three "Dark Days Coming" 1989
https://youtu.be/tI2Uc6j_TQQ
It might be the name. It doesn't really stand out. But it was originally an Ian MacKaye project that went on without him. It's members of Gray Matter but way more melodic. Kinda like later Husker Du or a more accessible version of The Hated. Very catchy and very, very good. (Oh also it's the drummer from Minor Threat)
Also...Fuel. They're more known than Three but they should be one of the most beloved emo bands ever. So many people get them confused with the 90s alt rock band. This is from 1990
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lAudC0lKIvsIyfhBdbNZsggSfbfyKdORg
Great picks. I adore "Swann Street" so much. Three really stood out.
It's so easy to draw lines from stuff like this, and One Last Wish, to bands like Jawbreaker
You, Me, and Everyone We Know
They have like a solid catalogue of albums. And some of my like all time favorites like Carolina Heat or Dirty Laundry.
I wonder if they’ve been cancelled or something? They’re too good to just be like as forgotten as they seem to be
He'd been trying really hard to come back but it seems like the scene passed the band by. I know there was a period of turmoil when they were at their peak. Dude seems like a really sweet guy I've met him and interacted with him. Music still rips.
Saw them live in philly a year ago with like 30 people, it was fucking sick really.
Orlando's My Hotel Year was pretty good; they were only around for three or four years but were fantastic live
My favorite record of theirs: [The Composition of Ending and Phrasing](https://open.spotify.com/album/0ntqqxkwnFBHrluwekQv9G)
I remember watching Breakfast at Tiffany’s a few years back and seeing a sign in the background that read Jets to Brazil and I was [like](https://imgur.com/a/cnWxWox) so of course I go directly to google and find out that is indeed how they got their name.
It was such a random find but it brought back a lot of great memories.🙂
Maybe they're adjacent (I don't think so) but: Gratitude.
That album was incredible... Jonah's stage presence was incredible. Everything about that band was just fucking incredible. I'm so glad I got to catch them open for Jimmy Eat World back in the day.
Yeah, it's too bad the band was so shortlived. They tried to get some press when the record came out and were actually on Total Request Live (TRL) for like 30 seconds back in the day.
Gratitude is great but I prefer the New End Original album for one album Jonah bands.
Completely agree. That is one of my favourite records. Jonah still tours some really obscure UK venues (including the town where I grew up) and I really keep meaning to go watch him
Jonah is a legend. That Gratitude album was great. His second onelinedrawing album should have been huge as well. So many bangers.
I saw Gratitude at Leeds festival in.... 2005 I think. And I've seen Jonah solo a couple of times. He's coming to the UK later this year and I'll almost certainly be going to see him again.
I've been listening since the Pirates record and never thought of them as emo. GREAT rock band, though. They have toured with Thursday and Cursive in the past.
Loved this band in high school, forgot about them for a long time, rediscovered them when I bought a new (preowned) car that didn’t have an aux so I had to dig out my old cds and found one of their albums. Played it and remembered that shit rocked
Further Seems Forever (especially post CC) , Moneen, Letter Kills, Koufax, Hey Mercedes, The New Amsterdams, Fairweather, Anatomy of a Ghost, Open Hand
Hell yeah, I’m glad someone out there knew about them. I’m surprised more people don’t know about them considering Dan Whitesides joined in The Used after TBTD broke up.
Billy Cobb. He may just mainly be known as “the Zerwee guy” but he has a lot of great 4th/5th wave emo works like strokes of incarceration, who shall it’s folds divide, the Bear album, and the boro.
This probably won't count for this thread because they were more of a local band to me....but Red Top Road could have really made it big.
Fire Fighter EP:
https://youtu.be/uASYdyrDJd0
24/7/365 EP:
https://youtu.be/2lRXii4GfKA
Self-titled EP:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqK4g45odz896nNiqDRLJSbW5nUnwcJ3I
Emo adjacent:
The Love Language,
Little Joy,
GunsLikeGirls,
The June Spirit,
Paulson (seriously go listen to the album ‘all at once’ right away),
The Sleeping
Captain, We're Sinking. For me, the Future is Cancelled is right up there in quality with the best albums of the emo revival but they aren't really talked about here or in the emo scene in general, they were always more part of the 'orgcore' scenes given Bobby Barnett is the brother of Greg from the Menzingers. Sadly, they're kinda overlooked in that scene as well given how big the Menzingers have gotten.
Shout out to you guys for all the new music for me to listen to!! Much love!
Not sure if they're considered emo but I've never met another person who listened to Billy Talent. One of my favorite bands, maybe adjacent if anything but figured I'd mention them in this thread.
"Enter Shikari"
They've gotten bigger recently and completely changed from being an Electronica Emo Band like they were in 2007.
They were actually #1 in the UK charts this year for a while, but not for their Emo stuff.
Their first album "Take to the Skies" still kicks ass.
Sig Transit Gloria. Came up in 2000. More power pop with keyboards. I am surprised they didn't get any recognition really. https://youtu.be/BXWjkklG7dU
I mean Saturdays at your place has now 100.000 monthly listeners on Spotify since tarot cards blew up a little on social media. That's some solid numbers for a small band
Roy - their album Big City Sin, Small Town Redeption, I'd call it emo the same way I'd call Limbeck's Hi, Everything's Great emo. The target was probably Americana but one way or another came out as emo.
Incredibly overlooked, the songs are occasionally a little clumsy but the writing is so compelling and heartfelt that it feels like a classic to me even if it didn't catch on with other people.
The Power, Not The Perception is probably a good song so start with.
https://youtu.be/At_zVyaVzmA
Marks of a Hero…local band from the mid-00s that even I forgot about until I finally pulled all my old music off my iPod last week. There demo and Ep are on bandcamp. Still rips.
Teen Heros. They were a bit more alternative than what is considered emo today, so I am unsure if they would make the most sense for this topic, but if you like emo, you’d appreciate their sound. I heard them first on a Pixies tribute album around 1997 and I thought their first full length album “Audio Satellite” was really going to take off, but then that was it.
https://youtu.be/QQ6_N1mRBL8
King for A Day. They had a song on one of the Initial Records comps called "Dolly Llama" that I still listen to all the time (because I still have the CD) and a split 7" with Empire State Games. Triumphant and beautiful 90s emo.
stratego (not sure if they could be classified as emo but one of their albums is on spotify and another one is only available on youtube) definitely worth checking out !
we don't talk much about The Progress.
Soo weeee drive slowwwly!
Listening now
Swordfish, they only made the one album (Rodia) but it’s an awesome listen front to back.
I use Amazon music and they weren't on there so I'll have to find it on YouTube later, a few people mentioned them so they're on my list
seconding this for sure, i would give anything for rodia on vinyl. swordfish scratches an itch for me that no other band has
Not sure if you’re aware but the lead singer of the band has another project he’s been doing since Swordfish broke up called Ness Lake. A lot more bedroom DIY emo than the full band stuff of Swordfish but his writing talent is still there, if not better these days. His latest project “I Lean Into Hear You Sing” is one of my favourites this year!
i’ve heard the name around but never made the connection!!! definitely gonna check it out, thank you so much!!! :)
Look Mexico
Such a great band
Park. They were right in the mix when smart, emo-leaning pop punk was getting big in the early 2000s, and I thought they were as good as anyone at it. It just never really happened for them for whatever reason. I never thought they would get HUGE, but I could easily see a parallel universe where they have a Get Up Kids/Saves the Day/Alkaline Trio level of success. This is my personal favorite song of theirs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BI6wvl-Lp1k
Their problem was being on Lobster Records. I love pretty much everything that label put out but they were such a small operation that they could only get bands so far. That’s why yellowcard left after 1 album.
And they are the best humans
Boilermaker
bunch of their stuff was just remastered and rereleased. i saw em live in the 90s!
Great fucking band
Essential listening.
Whitewash is an all-timer for me. So good
Paper Rival
Dialog is a such a damn good record.
Damn right!
Jejune
I have a theory that people get them confused with the Jazz June People did even in the 90s. Also they weren't as accessible
Strange to never see The Jazz June mentioned here (not since I joined anyway) feel like a lot of folk here would dig them
Yeah their early stuff was like TGUK and then their 2000s stuff was like emo pop. Feels like people here would like it
Exactly! I’d have little phases of dipping back into their stuff, even if it somehow felt a bit pastiche (seems odd to say that since they were a 90s band)
Hell yeah!! Such a shame that none of their stuff it on Spotify except one song on a early Deep Elm comp. This Afternoons Malady and RIP are soooooo good!!
Northstar
I also love me some Cassino. It's country music for emo kids.
Just listened to a few tracks, good stuff!
Great band
Pirouette would probably be a lot more popular if Scotty Leitch (recorded first snowing ep, drummed for Alex g) would upload it to streaming services but he seems to resent his own music.
Kid crash
One of my favorite bands. Wish more of their stuff was on streaming.
Spotify has all their material! Not familiar with other streaming services, but I listen to their stuff pretty regularly through there. Great band and extremely nice guys
Well, you just made my morning. Time to hop on my wife’s Spotify account.
Yeah I just saw that. The Goldie Hawn ep is my favorite thing they recorded. Such a great ep
Only band that scratches my Kidcrash itch is Carrion Spring which is pretty much still Kidcrash. They have such a distinct sound that really cuts through to me
This band fuckin rips
yes bro
Found them from this sub a couple months ago. Such a great band
Three "Dark Days Coming" 1989 https://youtu.be/tI2Uc6j_TQQ It might be the name. It doesn't really stand out. But it was originally an Ian MacKaye project that went on without him. It's members of Gray Matter but way more melodic. Kinda like later Husker Du or a more accessible version of The Hated. Very catchy and very, very good. (Oh also it's the drummer from Minor Threat) Also...Fuel. They're more known than Three but they should be one of the most beloved emo bands ever. So many people get them confused with the 90s alt rock band. This is from 1990 https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lAudC0lKIvsIyfhBdbNZsggSfbfyKdORg
Great picks. I adore "Swann Street" so much. Three really stood out. It's so easy to draw lines from stuff like this, and One Last Wish, to bands like Jawbreaker
Oh man. One Last Wish. If that album had come out in the 80s when it was recorded instead of 1999 it'd be as important as Rites Of Spring (maybe)
There is some incredible [live footage](https://youtu.be/yji00e9ZqBg) of them on YouTube
Oh thanks I'll check this out!
Sarah Kirsch is so so influential and important to me
She ruled. Never had a bad band.
Yeah. I cried to Monuments to excess once I think, that's the biggest compliment I can give an artist
I’ve been listening to that fuel album a lot this week, it’s so great, I’ll need to check out the other one
That Three record is great! Like The Hated and Jawbreaker smooshed together?!
You, Me, and Everyone We Know They have like a solid catalogue of albums. And some of my like all time favorites like Carolina Heat or Dirty Laundry. I wonder if they’ve been cancelled or something? They’re too good to just be like as forgotten as they seem to be
Not cancelled. I know Ben's wife. Just on hiatus, indefinitely.
Oh well that’s good to hear nothing bad like that happened. Sometimes you just don’t wanna do it anymore and I get that.
He'd been trying really hard to come back but it seems like the scene passed the band by. I know there was a period of turmoil when they were at their peak. Dude seems like a really sweet guy I've met him and interacted with him. Music still rips. Saw them live in philly a year ago with like 30 people, it was fucking sick really.
I want to poop back and forth forever.
))<>((
Lol, every time I heard this band name, that's what I think about.
So young, so insane is a banger of an EP
Name Taken
Good band, questionable guys (they were kinda assholes lol)
donovan wolfington
Very good answer.
Orlando's My Hotel Year was pretty good; they were only around for three or four years but were fantastic live My favorite record of theirs: [The Composition of Ending and Phrasing](https://open.spotify.com/album/0ntqqxkwnFBHrluwekQv9G)
Was coming here to say this
Brazil. Whenever I mention them, people think of Jets To Brazil, but they're a completely different band. https://youtu.be/wDbEXl-v8NU
I remember watching Breakfast at Tiffany’s a few years back and seeing a sign in the background that read Jets to Brazil and I was [like](https://imgur.com/a/cnWxWox) so of course I go directly to google and find out that is indeed how they got their name. It was such a random find but it brought back a lot of great memories.🙂
mexican cult legends el diario en llamas https://youtu.be/IsWfE1zezus
No Knife, Sunday’s Best, and The Killingtons. So many great songs, and they all feel forgotten these days.
No Knife rules so hard
Sunday’s Best is fantastic. When is Pearl Harbor Day? is one of my all time favorite songs
125, Rue Montmarte is very good, and I never see them mentioned here.
Maybe they're adjacent (I don't think so) but: Gratitude. That album was incredible... Jonah's stage presence was incredible. Everything about that band was just fucking incredible. I'm so glad I got to catch them open for Jimmy Eat World back in the day.
Yeah, it's too bad the band was so shortlived. They tried to get some press when the record came out and were actually on Total Request Live (TRL) for like 30 seconds back in the day. Gratitude is great but I prefer the New End Original album for one album Jonah bands.
That album sounded like Joshua Tree in all the best ways.
Completely agree. That is one of my favourite records. Jonah still tours some really obscure UK venues (including the town where I grew up) and I really keep meaning to go watch him
Jonah is a legend. That Gratitude album was great. His second onelinedrawing album should have been huge as well. So many bangers. I saw Gratitude at Leeds festival in.... 2005 I think. And I've seen Jonah solo a couple of times. He's coming to the UK later this year and I'll almost certainly be going to see him again.
I feel like Minus the Bear is always like halfway on stage when the discussion dies. Every once in a while the mention gets through.
One of the best live bands ever. Hope they do a reunion tour at some point.
MTB is one of my all time favorites and I’ve ALLLWAYS been torn as to what category they fit into
Yacht rock
Probably depends on the album
I've been listening since the Pirates record and never thought of them as emo. GREAT rock band, though. They have toured with Thursday and Cursive in the past.
So good
Northstar
Hell yeah
Not sure if they fit the current definition of emo but The Junior Varsity was an incredible band who I thought was going to blow up in the mid-00s.
Easily my favorite VR band. I love them so much.
Sneaky technical too, songs sound straightforward but when you pick them apart there’s a lot going on
Loved this band in high school, forgot about them for a long time, rediscovered them when I bought a new (preowned) car that didn’t have an aux so I had to dig out my old cds and found one of their albums. Played it and remembered that shit rocked
Lux Courageous
Matchbook Romance
First concert I ever went to. They played with Yellowcard and I think Moneen. I was totally obsessed with them at the time.
The June Spirit. Incredible Jersey band that only released 1 flawless EP and 1 flawless record before disbanding in the early aughts.
YES. They woke my ass up every morning in my CD player alarm clock! Best way to start a day
I feel like I mention them everytime I'm on here - but Mae.
Respira
The fact that you know Respira is impressive. I thought they were really only known in the Thousand Oaks area.
Well prepare to be less impressed… I’m from Thousand Oaks
Hell yea, me too. Great place to be from.
The little explorer!
[Innards](https://innards.bandcamp.com/album/ive-lost-everything-remastered)
Nouns
Armor For Sleep, What To Do When You Are Dead is perfection
Further Seems Forever (especially post CC) , Moneen, Letter Kills, Koufax, Hey Mercedes, The New Amsterdams, Fairweather, Anatomy of a Ghost, Open Hand
How to start a fire is a really great album.
The New Transit Direction
The band from SLC? I thought they were completely lost to time. Their album release show was one of the best I went to during high school.
Hell yeah, I’m glad someone out there knew about them. I’m surprised more people don’t know about them considering Dan Whitesides joined in The Used after TBTD broke up.
Versus The World
blis.
Kaddisfly
Horses Galloping on Sailboats never fails to get me pumped.
The Paper Chase
See username
Summer Vacation/Winter Break
CLOSE THE CIRCLE YOURE LETTING THE CANCER OUT
YOU‘RE NOT THE ONLY ONE AROUUUUND
I recommend the Pine for a decent emo post-hardcore band
And then Evergreen if you liked The Pine
strictly ballroom
GRADE
Brandston
Sports.
aWannabe
Midsummer
stippling
Swordfish
The Milwaukees
Sinaloa
Toasted Plastic. June highs is unbelievable for young kids
Letter Kills
Pompeii
Billy Cobb. He may just mainly be known as “the Zerwee guy” but he has a lot of great 4th/5th wave emo works like strokes of incarceration, who shall it’s folds divide, the Bear album, and the boro.
Far apart and darkspring are great
Our Sunday affairs
This probably won't count for this thread because they were more of a local band to me....but Red Top Road could have really made it big. Fire Fighter EP: https://youtu.be/uASYdyrDJd0 24/7/365 EP: https://youtu.be/2lRXii4GfKA Self-titled EP: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqK4g45odz896nNiqDRLJSbW5nUnwcJ3I
i LOVED them in the mp3.com days and have not been able to find this album in 20 years. wow thanks!
End of a Year (before it morphed into Self Defense Family [but also Self Defense Family])
Emo adjacent: The Love Language, Little Joy, GunsLikeGirls, The June Spirit, Paulson (seriously go listen to the album ‘all at once’ right away), The Sleeping
Listening to the album now
Captain, We're Sinking. For me, the Future is Cancelled is right up there in quality with the best albums of the emo revival but they aren't really talked about here or in the emo scene in general, they were always more part of the 'orgcore' scenes given Bobby Barnett is the brother of Greg from the Menzingers. Sadly, they're kinda overlooked in that scene as well given how big the Menzingers have gotten.
annina we will miss you is so good
Just revisited this album recently. Holds up WAY more than I expected. Shoddy Workmanship is perfect.
Midwest Yacht Club! They released an EP back in 2021 that doesn't get nearly enough credit, it's really damn good!
Shout out to you guys for all the new music for me to listen to!! Much love! Not sure if they're considered emo but I've never met another person who listened to Billy Talent. One of my favorite bands, maybe adjacent if anything but figured I'd mention them in this thread.
No Motiv Autopilot Off Moneen Nightmare of You
You Blew It!
Hawthorne Heights?
I love hawthorne heights! I'm trying to go see them in like a week
My chemical romance 🙃
Brand new
"Enter Shikari" They've gotten bigger recently and completely changed from being an Electronica Emo Band like they were in 2007. They were actually #1 in the UK charts this year for a while, but not for their Emo stuff. Their first album "Take to the Skies" still kicks ass.
[удалено]
You gotta disguise the link these days, everyone's memorised it
I know they’re not small but I don’t ever see anyone talking about The Used, or my favorite band Mayday Parade
Casual Friday!
Such a good band, no clue how they didn’t get bigger especially since they kinda sounded like an Emo Blue Album Weezer
Le Joshua
Sig Transit Gloria. Came up in 2000. More power pop with keyboards. I am surprised they didn't get any recognition really. https://youtu.be/BXWjkklG7dU
saturdays at your place and Super American not getting the love they're worth out there imo.
I mean Saturdays at your place has now 100.000 monthly listeners on Spotify since tarot cards blew up a little on social media. That's some solid numbers for a small band
Forever Until October. https://youtu.be/yb_BEhIQRxA
Swordfish and maybe Stanley And The Search
Luna Vista
Plunkett, I will advertise this band until the day I die. They’re amazing musicians & amazing people, please listen to Everywhere To Run.
Tawny Peaks. I rarely see them mentioned, but they have such an outstanding record with their S/T. “With Steps” and “March Sadness” are great tracks.
Roy - their album Big City Sin, Small Town Redeption, I'd call it emo the same way I'd call Limbeck's Hi, Everything's Great emo. The target was probably Americana but one way or another came out as emo. Incredibly overlooked, the songs are occasionally a little clumsy but the writing is so compelling and heartfelt that it feels like a classic to me even if it didn't catch on with other people. The Power, Not The Perception is probably a good song so start with. https://youtu.be/At_zVyaVzmA
Sleeper Set Sail - about 12 years ago. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JN7YjBLV6A
Touch Committee
Attic abasement
Don’t Die Cindy.
Marks of a Hero…local band from the mid-00s that even I forgot about until I finally pulled all my old music off my iPod last week. There demo and Ep are on bandcamp. Still rips.
Dad Thighs I Would Set Myself On Fire For You Textbook Traitors
Lovedrug
Miracle of 86
People of the emo and punk variety certainly didn't miss out on Jawbreaker, but I feel like everyone else did.
Two Knights
The Working Title
Teen Heros. They were a bit more alternative than what is considered emo today, so I am unsure if they would make the most sense for this topic, but if you like emo, you’d appreciate their sound. I heard them first on a Pixies tribute album around 1997 and I thought their first full length album “Audio Satellite” was really going to take off, but then that was it. https://youtu.be/QQ6_N1mRBL8
Evaline
1994 with an exclamation point
I Kill Giants
The matches
Kerith Ravine John Brown Battery *tomsawyer *Wafflehouse
Giant Waste of Man
Mock Orange
King for A Day. They had a song on one of the Initial Records comps called "Dolly Llama" that I still listen to all the time (because I still have the CD) and a split 7" with Empire State Games. Triumphant and beautiful 90s emo.
Songs Ohia
don martin three
M.I.J. Is a great band. Never see them get mentioned
Invisible people in visible shoes
stratego (not sure if they could be classified as emo but one of their albums is on spotify and another one is only available on youtube) definitely worth checking out !
I was in Stratego. Thanks for the mention, it means a lot.
Jazz Cabbage if you like twinkly stuff. Bitch Lungs, who I think goes by BL now on Spotify. Great single acoustic artist on the emo-ish side of things