The emo revival,also known as post-emo or fourth wave emo,[2] was an underground emo movement which began in the late 2000s and had declined by the mid–to late 2010s. The movement began towards the end of the 2000s third wave of emo, with bands like Tigers Jaw, Algernon Cadwallader and Snowing who distanced themselves from the era's pop sensibilities and instead revived the sound of 1990s second wave emo. This coincided with the rise of bands, like Touché Amoré, La Dispute and Defeater, who too embraced the influence of 1990s emo, as well as screamo and post-hardcore.

By the early 2010s, the movement was a prominent force in underground music, and by the middle of the decade, era defining groups like Modern Baseball, the Hotelier and Joyce Manor had released their most influential works. At the same time, the movement expanded sonically, with groups like Basement, Citizen and Turnover pioneering the soft grunge genre and State Faults, Birds in Row and Portrayal of Guilt broadening the scope of screamo. The movement began to decline towards the end of the decade, as influential bands disbanded or entered periods of hiatus, and groups like the Brave Little Abacus, Foxing and the World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die began pushing the genre into more experimental territory, which would become a defining part of fifth wave emo.

Characteristics

Bands of the revival are influenced by the second wave emo acts from the Midwestern emo scene of the 1990s and early 2000s. Bands often display a "DIY sound" and lyrical themes range from nostalgia to adulthood.[3][4] In contrast, Ultimate Guitar staff writer Maria Pro stated the wave only borrowed the aesthetics, instead being a fusion of math rock, post-hardcore and pop punk.[2]

History

Midwest emo revival

Philadelphia's Modern Baseball were one of the bigger players in the emo revival

While third wave emo was reaching its commercial peak in the mid-to late 2000s by embracing the sounds of mainstream radio music, the forerunners of the fourth wave of emo were coalescing under the influence of the genre's second wave.[5] The fourth wave of emo began with bands including Pennsylvania-based groups Tigers Jaw,[5] Glocca Morra,[6] Snowing and Algernon Cadwallader and the English band TTNG.[7] A 2018 article by Stereogum specifically stated that "the emo revival was created in the image of [Algernon Cadwallader's] 2008 LP Some Kind Of Cadwallader,[8] while a 2020 article by Junkee called Tigers Jaw's 2008 self-titled second album "a true landmark release for the era".[5] These bands returned the DIY ethos and reintroduced basement show to the emo scene. Under their influence, other underground emo scenes formed across the United States such as those in West Virginia, Willimantic, Connecticut and Chicago.[6] By 2011, fourth wave emo had been fully realised.[5] Pennsylvania continued to be prominent throughout the wave, with more bands forming in the city including Everyone Everywhere, Modern Baseball,[2] Hop Along,[6] Jank,[9] Balance and Composure and mewithoutYou.[10]

By 2013, the emo revival had become a dominant force in underground music, with the year seeing high profile releases by groups including 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.[11] Spin named the Hotelier's second album Home, Like Noplace Is There (2014) as the best album of fourth wave emo, stating that it "made it undeniably clear that the most thoughtful, the most progressive and the most exciting thing in indie right now was happening right here".[6]

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.[12] Furthermore, through this era, contemporary emo bands maintained a close associated with the hardcore scene and pop punk's ongoing Defend Pop Punk Era, which bore the influence of both hardcore and Midwest emo.[13] In particular, the Wonder Years, Jeff Rosenstock, Charly Bliss and PUP were prominent acts during the emo's fourth wave, who sonically were closer to pop punk.[6]

The Wave and screamo revival

Touché Amoré were one of the most prominent acts in the Wave

Beginning to form in the late 2000s, "the Wave" was a movement of bands reviving 1990s emo, screamo and post-hardcore sounds.[14][15] The name was originally coined to refer to only Touché Amoré, La Dispute, Defeater, Pianos Become the Teeth and Make Do and Mend, however by 2014 had expanded to also include groups Balance and Composure, Into It. Over It. and Title Fight.[16] In 2011 Alternative Press noted that La Dispute is "at the forefront of a traditional-screamo revival" for their critically acclaimed release Wildlife,[17] while a 2014 article by Treble called Touché Amoré "the one band carrying the sound forward in the most interesting ways".[18] Outside of the Wave, bands furthering the sound of screamo in the early 2010s included Caravels, Comadre and State Faults.[11] By 2015, many of the original acts in the movement had either gone on hiatus or entered periods of inactivity.[16]

In August 2018, Noisey writer Dan Ozzi declared that it was the "Summer of Screamo" in a month-long series documenting screamo acts pushing the genre forward as well as the reunions of seminal bands such as Pg. 99, Majority Rule, City of Caterpillar,[19] and Jeromes Dream.[20] Groups highlighted in this coverage, including Respire,[21][22] Ostraca,[23] Portrayal of Guilt,[24][25][26] Soul Glo,[27] I Hate Sex,[28] and Infant Island,[29][30][31] 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,[32] screamo had become a more international movement; notably spreading to Japan, France, and Sweden with groups including Heaven in Her Arms, Birds in Row and Suis La Lune, respectively.[33] Also in 2018, Vein released their debut album Errorzone to critical acclaim and commercial success, bringing together elements of screamo, hardcore and nu metal.[34][35][36]

Soft grunge

Title Fight were one of the forefront acts in soft grunge

One notable segment within fourth wave emo was the sound of soft grunge.[5] Merging elements of emo, shoegaze, pop punk, alternative rock and post-hardcore,[37] the genre originated with bands from the hardcore punk scene who began making music inspired by 1990s emo and post-hardcore as well as early 1990s alternative rock groups like the Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains. The first wave of bands emerged in the early 2010s, including Adventures, Balance and Composure, Basement, Citizen, Pity Sex, Superheaven and Turnover. The majority of these bands were signed to Run for Cover Records, made use of fuzz pedals and filmed their music videos using 8 mm film.[38] Title Fight stood at the forefront of the genre with the success of their 2012 album Floral Green.[39]

Decline

By the middle of the decade many bands had begun experimenting considerably with their sound, creating music less indebted to the 1990s emo bands that defined the fourth wave's early years and instead morphing the style towards what many critics began to call post-emo. As early as 2015, Vice writer Ian Cohen referenced the end of the emo revival and the beginning of the post-emo era with the release of the World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die's second album Harmlessness, while BrooklynVegan writer Andrew Sacher recalled the same sentiment retrospectively in 2021 about Foxing's 2018 third album Nearer My God.[40][41]

By the end of the decade many of the most influential bands in fourth wave emo had disbanded: Modern Baseball in 2017, Title Fight in 2018 and Balance and Composure in 2019.[10][42] mewithoutYou originally announced their break in 2019, after a final 2020 tour, however this tour was postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic and the band eventually broke up in 2022.[43] While other bands who had previously been prolific, such Defeater and La Dispute, entered periods of inactivity.[10]

Influence

Fourth wave emo band Foxing's album Nearer My God (2014) helped pioneer the sound of fifth wave emo

The underground success of fourth wave emo influenced the rise of the emo rap genre, which received significant mainstream success in the late 2010s with artists like Lil Peep, Lil Uzi Vert and Juice Wrld.[12] One of the earliest pioneers of this sound was former Tigers Jaw guitarist and vocalist Adam McIlwee, who began the solo project Wicca Phase Springs Eternal and formed the influential emo rap collective GothBoiClique.[44]

Following the revival era in the early 2010s, a number of new bands emerged in the emo genre which have often been grouped into a distinct wave starting from the late 2010s to the early 2020s.[45] The Ringer writer Ian Cohen as beginning as early as 2017 when emo bands of the fourth wave like Crying and the Brave Little Abacus began moving into post-emo.[46] This fifth wave of emo maintained many of the stylistic elements of the revival era, but also began to incorporate sounds from other genres such as jazz and electronic music.[45] The fifth wave of emo has also been noted for its focus on inclusivity of bands with transgender, queer, female and black artists as well as other artists of color.[47] Notable fifth-wave artists include Home Is Where, Dogleg, Glass Beach, Origami Angel, Pool Kids and Awakebutstillinbed.[45]

By 2023, remaining fourth waves emo bands like Citizen, the Hotelier, Foxing and the Wonder Year began touring for the tenth anniversaries of their most influential records and receiving renewed critical acclaim.[48]

Criticism

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.[49][50] 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."[51]

During the emo revival, music scholars began to consider emo music's relationship to misogyny and sexism.[52] The emo revival was also notable for the revelations of sexual harassment and assault by members of emo bands such as Brand New[53] that emerged during this time. These revelations led to a wider conversation about sexism within emo scenes.[54]

References

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  2. 1 2 3 4 Pro, Maria. "Is Emo Revival Really a Thing?". Ultimate Guitar. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
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  4. "Is Emo Revival Really a Thing?". Ultimate-guitar.com. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Davino, Bianca (18 February 2020). "From 'Three Cheers' To 'Bleed American': The 10 Most Important Emo Albums". Junkee. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
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  9. "JANK Awkward Pop Songs (2015)". 2 February 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  10. 1 2 3 Jay, Melannie. "What the Break–ups of Philly's Biggest Emo Bands Means for the Scene". 34th Street Magazine. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
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