{{Short description|2010s underground emo movement}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2025}} {{Infobox art movement | name = Emo revival | image = | alt = | caption = | branch = Emo | yearsactive = Late 2000s–mid-2010s | location = United States (Philadelphia, Chicago), United Kingdom | majorfigures = {{hlist|Tigers Jaw|Algernon Cadwallader|Modern Baseball|the Hotelier|Joyce Manor|Basement|Citizen|Title Fight}} | influences = {{hlist|Midwest emo|screamo|{{nowrap|indie rock<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/emo-revival/|title='Emo Revival' & how 'Indie Rock' was already 'Emo' (or vice versa)|website=Brooklynvegan.com|date=26 November 2013 |accessdate=5 September 2020}}</ref>}}|math rock|post-hardcore|pop punk<ref name="Pro, 2017" />}} | influenced = {{hlist|Emo rap|soft grunge|defend pop punk era|fifth-wave emo}} }}
The '''emo revival''', or '''fourth wave emo''',<ref name="Pro, 2017" /> was an underground emo movement which began in the late 2000s and flourished until the mid-2010s. The movement began towards the end of the 2000s third-wave emo, with Pennsylvania-based groups such as Tigers Jaw, Algernon Cadwallader and Snowing eschewing that era's mainstream sensibilities in favor of influence from 1990s Midwest emo (i.e., second wave emo).
The movement had become prominent in underground music by the mid-2010s, with influential releases from era-defining groups like Modern Baseball, the Hotelier and Joyce Manor. It also expanded in scope and sonic diversity during this period. Soft grunge was pioneered by such groups as Title Fight, Basement, Citizen and Turnover. Fourth-wave emo entered a decline toward the decade's end, as influential bands disbanded or entered periods of hiatus. A fifth-wave of bands began pushing the genre into more experimental territory, often embracing post-rock; examples include Pool Kids, Glass Beach and Awakebutstillinbed.
==Characteristics== Bands of the emo revival are predominately influenced by acts from the Midwest emo scene of the 1990s and early 2000s; according to ''Ultimate Guitar'' staff writer Maria Pro, the terms second-wave emo and Midwest emo are used interchangeably to describe that time period's scene.<ref name="Pro, 2017">{{cite web |last1=Pro |first1=Maria |title=Is Emo Revival Really a Thing? |url=https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/articles/features/is_emo_revival_really_a_thing-64327 |website=Ultimate Guitar |access-date=24 October 2023}}</ref> Revival bands often display a "DIY sound" and lyrical themes ranging from nostalgia to adulthood.<ref name="EMREV">{{cite web|url=https://www.stereogum.com/1503252/12-bands-to-know-from-the-emo-revival/franchises/list/|title=12 Bands To Know From The Emo Revival|date=1 October 2013|website=Stereogum.com}}</ref> Pro, however, further writes that the revival only borrowed from the second wave in terms of aesthetics; sonically, it featured a distinct fusion of math rock, post-hardcore and pop punk.<ref name="Pro, 2017"/>
The emo revival ran parallel to the wave, and as, around 2013, the definition of "emo revival" expanded, some of the major groups in the wave began to also be considered a part of the emo revival.<ref name="Sacher, 2021">{{cite web |last1=Sacher |first1=Andrew |title=10 years ago, the new wave of post-hardcore made its mark |date=22 February 2021 |url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/10-years-ago-the-new-wave-of-post-hardcore-made-its-mark/ |access-date=26 October 2023}}</ref>
==History== ===Midwest emo revival=== [[File:Modern Baseball band.JPG|left|thumb|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, fourth-wave emo's forerunners began taking influence from the second-wave Midwest emo scene.<ref name="Davino, 2020">{{cite web |last1=Davino |first1=Bianca |title=From 'Three Cheers' To 'Bleed American': The 10 Most Important Emo Albums |url=https://junkee.com/essential-emo-albums/242173 |website=Junkee |date=18 February 2020 |access-date=24 October 2023}}</ref> The fourth wave was spearheaded by the Pennsylvania-based groups Tigers Jaw,<ref name="Davino, 2020" /> Glocca Morra,<ref name="Spin, 2017">{{cite web |title=30 Best Emo Revival Albums, Ranked |url=https://www.spin.com/2017/06/best-emo-revival-albums-ranked/ |website=Spin |access-date=24 October 2023}}</ref> Snowing and Algernon Cadwallader and the English band TTNG.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.treblezine.com/reviews/30870-ttng-disappointment-island-review/|title=TTNG : Disappointment Island|website=Treblezine.co|date=18 July 2016|accessdate=6 January 2018}}</ref> A 2018 ''Stereogum'' article cited Algernon Cadwallader's 2008 LP ''Some Kind Of Cadwallader'' as the emo revival's watershed release,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.stereogum.com/2020853/emo-revival-heroes-algernon-cadwallader-are-back-in-print/franchises/interview/|title=Emo Revival Heroes Algernon Cadwallader Are Back (In Print)|date=13 November 2018|website=Stereogum.com}}</ref> while a 2020 article by ''Junkee'' called Tigers Jaw's 2008 self-titled second album "a true landmark release for the era".<ref name="Davino, 2020" /> These bands embraced a DIY ethos and reintroduced basement shows to the emo scene. Under their influence, underground emo scenes formed across the United States in such localities as West Virginia, Willimantic, Connecticut, and Chicago.<ref name="Spin, 2017" /> 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,<ref>{{cite web |title=Chicago Has a New Emo Rock Scene (Again) |date=24 October 2013 |author=Osmon, Erin|url=https://www.chicagomag.com/arts-culture/October-2013/The-New-New-Chicago-Emo/ |access-date=19 January 2024}}</ref> and Dowsing.<ref>{{cite web | title=Dowsing - I Don't Even Care Anymore| date=August 14, 2013 |publisher = Alternative Press |url=https://www.altpress.com/dowsing_i_dont_even_care_anymore/ |access-date=20 January 2024}}</ref> Fourth-wave emo had become a fully-realised movement by 2011.<ref name="Davino, 2020" /> Philadelphia's scene remained prominent throughout the wave, contributing bands such as Everyone Everywhere, Modern Baseball,<ref name="Pro, 2017" /> Hop Along,<ref name="Spin, 2017" /> Jank,<ref>{{cite web |title=JANK Awkward Pop Songs (2015) |date=2 February 2016 |url=https://www.punknews.org/review/14170/jank-awkward-pop-songs |access-date=24 October 2023}}</ref> Balance and Composure, and mewithoutYou.<ref name="Jay, 2019" />
By 2013, the 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.<ref name="Sacher, 2023">{{cite web |last1=Sacher |first1=Andrew |title=25 Classic Emo & Post-Hardcore Albums Turning 10 in 2023 |url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/25-classic-emo-post-hardcore-albums-turning-10-in-2023/ |website=Brooklyn Vegan |date=17 January 2023 |access-date=29 October 2023}}</ref> The same year, Huntsville-based Camping in Alaska released their debut album, ''please be nice'', which became a cult classic with the success of "c u in da ballpit" online.<ref>{{cite web | title=Midwest Emo pioneers CAMPING IN ALASKA share top 10 influentian albums, new acoustic EP streaming | website=IDIOTEQ.com | date=31 October 2022 | url=https://idioteq.com/midwest-emo-pioneers-camping-in-alaska-share-top-10-influentian-albums-new-acoustic-ep-streaming/ | access-date=29 April 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine | title=Bandcamp Picks: Camping in Alaska & Viva Belgrado | magazine=Merry-Go-Round Magazine | date=9 February 2024 | url=https://merrygoroundmagazine.com/bandcamp-picks-of-the-week-2-9-24/ |author-first=Madison |author-last=Jamar | access-date=29 April 2024}}</ref> ''Spin'' named the Hotelier's second album ''Home, Like Noplace Is There'' (2014) as the best album of fourth wave emo, opining 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".<ref name="Spin, 2017" />
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.<ref name="Vulture, 2019" /> 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.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kovach |first1=Ellie |title=The Pop-Punk and Hardcore Connection |date=20 December 2018 |url=https://www.noecho.net/features/pop-punk-hardcore-connection |access-date=26 October 2023}}</ref> In particular, the Wonder Years, Jeff Rosenstock, Charly Bliss and PUP were prominent acts during emo's fourth wave, who sonically were closer to pop punk.<ref name="Spin, 2017" />
===Soft grunge=== [[File:Title Fight during their set as Amnesia Rockfest in 2014 (Montebello, QC, Canada).jpg|thumb|175px|Title Fight were one of the forefront acts in soft grunge.]] {{main|Soft grunge music}} One notable segment within fourth wave emo was the sound of soft grunge.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Necci |first1=Marilyn Drew |title=RVA Shows You Must See This Week: 9/10-9/16 |url=https://rvamag.com/music/world-music/rva-shows-you-must-see-this-week-910-916.html |website=RVA Mag |access-date=6 February 2026 |date=10 September 2014}}</ref><ref name="Davino, 2020" /> Originally coined as the "grunge revival",<ref name="Kempf, 2019">{{cite book |last1=Kempf |first1=Brandon Gregory |title=Through the Lens of Grunge: Distortion of Subcultures in Gentrified Seattle |date=2019-04-12 |publisher=Texas A&M University |location=College Station, Texas |pages=19–20 |quote=This dichotomy suggests both a refreshment and rebirth, in the form of the newly branded “soft grunge,” as well as an induction to a preexisting classics/classic rock category...Perhaps the biggest proponents of the creative resurgence of grunge were music journalists who identified new tendencies towards certain sonic trends in the early 2010s as ‘“grunge-y,” even as “grunge throwback” or “grunge revival.“ Whether this was premeditated or a concerted effort by the creators of the music was variable; some artists, such as east coast bands Title Fight, Citizen, Nothing, U.K. band Basement, and Australian band Violent Soho, embodied the likening to the 1990s grunge style, citing the music as highly influential to the development of their own artistic sound and style, and embraced the claim to leadership of the grunge revival. Other artists, such as east coast bands Superheaven, Creepoid, and U.K. band Yuck, are less tolerant of the comparison, rejecting any claims of imitation, and prefer their music not be pigeonholed or pinned down to one specific genre, style, or revivalist moment/movement.}}</ref> soft grunge merges elements of 1990s-style emo and grunge.<ref name="D, 2014">{{cite web |title=Will the Mid 2010′s = The Rise of Soft Grunge Music? (Potential Demise of Pop Punk – Important Read) |url=https://think1887.rssing.com/chan-24795248/article28.html?nocache=0#c24795248a28 <!--This is an archive url --> |website=Stuff You Will Hate |access-date=6 February 2026 }}</ref> Acts in the genre often embrace elements from a diverse array of styles including pop punk, alternative rock,<ref name="Yahoo">{{cite web |last1=Jones |first1=Marcus |title=Friday Five: Ashnikko samples Kelis, Flo Milli's Fiddler on the Roof, and more |url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/friday-five-ashnikko-samples-kelis-002442008.html |website=Yahoo! News |date=16 January 2021 |access-date=28 April 2021 |quote=Back in the early 2010s, Citizen's breed of moody alt-emo put them at the forefront of the short-lived "soft grunge" movement. Their 2013 debut, Youth, is a tentpole of that era's convergence of '90s emo, abrasive pop-punk, and humbly anthemic alt-rock,}}</ref> shoegaze, indie rock and post-hardcore.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Enis |first1=Eli |title=A Glaring Lack of Grunge in the Grunge Revival |date=12 October 2022 |url=https://endlessscroll.substack.com/p/a-glaring-lack-of-grunge-in-the-grunge |access-date=22 October 2023 |quote=the “soft grunge” sound that Citizen and Turnover were pegged with — a moody, mid-tempo style of grungey indie with nasally emo vocals and sagging hooks that’re sometimes cut with a dash of post-hardcore bite... Each band had varying flecks of pop-punk, emo, shoegaze and hardcore}}</ref> Lyrics in the genre are often emotional, accompanied by a "brooding" vocal style,<ref name="King, 2025" /> often mixed quietly and using slow, "droning" melodies.<ref name="PP, 2016" /> Guitar tones are modified using effects units, such as the atmospheric effects reverb and delay,<ref name="PP, 2016">{{cite web |title=Simmer - Paper Prisms - Rockfreaks.net |url=https://www.rockfreaks.net/albums/8461 |access-date=6 February 2026}}</ref> as well as the fuzz effect.<ref name="Enis, 2022" /> Many bands filmed their music videos using 8 mm film.<ref name="Enis, 2022" /> ''Uproxx'' writer Ian Cohen called the genre "the midpoint" between Stone Temple Pilots's song "Sex Type Thing" (1993) and Sunny Day Real Estate's song "In Circles" (1994).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cohen |first1=Ian |title=A DECADE AND A VIRAL HIT LATER, SUPERHEAVEN ARE MOUNTING THEIR COMEBACK |url=https://uproxx.com/indie/superheaven-interview-new-album/ |website=Uproxx |date=17 April 2025 |access-date=5 October 2025}}</ref>
Soft grunge began when bands from the late 2000s hardcore punk scene began making music inspired by 1990s emo and post-hardcore groups like Rival Schools and the Promise Ring as well as early 1990s alternative rock groups like the Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains.<ref name="Enis, 2022">{{cite web |last1=Enis |first1=Eli |title=A Glaring Lack of Grunge in the Grunge Revival |date=12 October 2022 |url=https://endlessscroll.substack.com/p/a-glaring-lack-of-grunge-in-the-grunge |access-date=22 October 2023}}</ref> In the early 2010s, the first wave of bands in the genre emerged, largely based around Run for Cover Records, including Adventures, Balance and Composure, Basement, Citizen, Pity Sex, Superheaven and Turnover.<ref name="Enis, 2022" /> Title Fight stood at the forefront of the genre with the success of their 2012 album ''Floral Green''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Enis |first1=Eli |title=12 albums where a band did something totally unexpected |url=https://www.kerrang.com/features/12-albums-where-an-artist-did-something-unexpected/ |website=Kerrang! |date=16 April 2021 |access-date=28 April 2021}}</ref> The album was widely influential, inspiring many bands to pursue a similar sound and reshaping Run for Cover into a label renowned for its grunge influence.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Manning |first1=Craig |title=Chorus.fm’s Top 50 Albums of the 2010s |url=https://chorus.fm/features/chorus-fms-top-50-albums-of-the-2010s |website=chorus.fm |access-date=6 February 2026 |date=9 December 2019}}</ref> Often, albums were produced by Will Yip.<ref>{{cite web |title=Citizen - Everybody Is Going To Heaven |url=https://www.punknews.org/review/13639/citizen-everybody-is-going-to-heaven |website=www.punknews.org |access-date=6 February 2026 |language=en |date=10 June 2015}}</ref> Some groups in this early era of the genre were made up of former easycore musicians, who shifted their sound into soft grunge. This included Citizen, In This for Fun who became Basement<ref name="D, 2014" /> and Bangerang who became Superheaven.<ref>{{cite web |title=bands that never got anywhere then disappeared: easycore edition |url=https://archive.today/20140406175858/http://www.stuffyouwillhate.com/2014/04/bands-that-never-got-anywhere-then-disappeared-easycore-edition/ |website=Stuff You Will Hate |access-date=6 February 2026}}</ref>
Turnover's second album ''Peripheral Vision'' merged the genre with elements of dream pop<ref name="King, 2025">{{cite web |last1=King |first1=Ely |title=LIVE FROM THE PIT: Turnover, Wicca Phase Springs Eternal and Glixen |url=https://www.outofrage.net/post/live-from-the-pit-turnover-wicca-phase-springs-eternal-and-glixen |website=Out Of Rage |access-date=6 February 2026 |language=en |date=21 September 2025}}</ref> and shoegaze.<ref name="Alternative, 2017" /> The album was widely influential, Movements vocalist Patrick Miranda stated in a 2025 interview that "Every band wanted to sound like Title Fight ''Floral Green''. Every local band... until Turnover put out ''Peripheral Vision'' and then it was like the whole scene flipped".<ref>{{cite AV media |people=Patrick Miranda|date=October 14, 2025 |title=Title Fight Changed Emo Forever with This Album |url=https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/77-title-fight-changed-emo-forever-with-this-album-w/id1735620821?i=1000731792260 |work=CD Burners |type=Podcast |time=36m|access-date=2026-01-04 |quote=Every band wanted to sound like Title Fight ''Floral Green''. Every local band, every like every band in the scene was trying to do the Title Fight thing and it was just like every new band that was popping up was like, "Oh, what do they what do they sound like?" Oh, yeah. They sound like Title Fight. Cool. All right, got it. And it was like I feel like it was constant until Turnover put out ''Peripheral Vision'' and then it was like the whole scene flipped. Yeah. And then it was like, "Oh, every band's trying to be Turnover peripheral vision now."}}</ref> That year, many North American Defend Pop Punk Era acts shifted their sound in favor of soft grunge,<ref>{{cite web |last1=D |first1=Sergeant |author-link=Finn McKenty |title=Is TR00 POP PUNK the next big scene trend??? |url=https://archive.today/20140921222929/http://www.stuffyouwillhate.com/2011/08/is-tr00-pop-punk-the-next-big-scene-trend/ |website=Stuff You Will Hate |access-date=4 February 2026}}</ref> becoming one of the most prominent sounds in the pop punk scene during the mid-2010s.<ref name="D, 2014" /> ''Stereogum'' writer Ian Cohen described "the sound of popular punk" in the mid-2010s as being a "Warped Tour traditionalism, soft-grunge, emo revival, and indie-leaning pop-punk", particularly citing pop-punk band the Wonder Years's tour in support of their album ''The Greatest Generation'' as being "a time capsule" of the time, due to its openers being the soft grunge band Citizen, emo revival band Modern Baseball and pop-punk band Real Friends.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cohen|first1=Ian|title=Fireworks On The Endless Toil And Spiritual Malaise Behind Their Long-Promised, Surprise-Released New Album Higher Lonely Power |url=https://stereogum.com/2209202/fireworks-higher-lonely-power/interviews |website=stereogum.com |access-date=6 February 2026 |language=en |date=1 January 2023}}</ref> In 2016, some prominent pioneers of the genre began to shift their sound closer to pop rock, particularly Balance and Composure on ''Light We Made'' and Basement on ''Promise Everything'',<ref name="Alternative, 2017">{{cite web |title=Track Attack: Turnover — 'Bonnie (Rhythm & Melody)' |url=https://www.getalternative.com/track-attack-turnover-bonnie-rhythm-melody/ |website=The Alternative |access-date=6 February 2026 |language=en |date=17 August 2017}}</ref> with Citizen also taking a more commericial sound on ''As You Please'' (2017).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cohen |first1=Ian |title=Citizen: As You Please |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/citizen-as-you-please/ |website=Pitchfork |access-date=6 February 2026}}</ref> Other acts in the genre from this time included Major League,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Miller |first1=Harry |title=Album Review: Major League - There’s Nothing Wrong With Me |url=https://alreadyheard.com/album-review-major-league-theres-nothing-wrong/ |website=Already Heard |access-date=27 December 2025 |date=22 December 2014}}</ref> Movements<ref>{{cite web |last1=Goodyear |first1=Lilly |title=Ritual, Memory, and Emotional Catharsis |url=https://kbvrfm.orangemedianetwork.com/3935/kbvr-fm/ritual-memory-and-emotional-catharsis-a-nostalgic-reflection-on-pink-cloud-summers-at-portlands-roseland-theater/ |website=KBVR-FM |access-date=6 February 2026}}</ref> and Teenage Wrist.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pramayougha |first1=Prabu |title=Memperkenalkan: Bitter Colour |url=https://consumedmagazine.com/memperkenalkan-bitter-colour/ |website=Consume |access-date=11 February 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250806211132/https://consumedmagazine.com/memperkenalkan-bitter-colour/ |archive-date=August 6, 2025}}</ref>
===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''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sacher |first1=Andrew |title=Ned Russin (Title Fight) discusses the influences on new Glitterer album 'Life Is Not A Lesson' |date=23 February 2021 |url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/ned-russin-title-fight-discusses-the-influences-on-new-glitterer-album-life-is-not-a-lesson/ |access-date=26 October 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Cohen |first1=Ian |title=The Emo Revival Ends Here: The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die Made a Perfect Indie Rock Record |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-world-is-a-beautiful-place-and-i-am-no-longer-afraid-to-die-made-a-perfect-indie-rock-record-with-harmlessness/ |website=Vice Media |date=28 September 2015 |access-date=26 October 2023}}</ref>
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.<ref name="Jay, 2019">{{cite web |last1=Jay |first1=Melannie |title=What the Break–ups of Philly's Biggest Emo Bands Means for the Scene |url=https://www.34st.com/article/2019/11/mewithoutyou-balance-and-composure-modern-baseball-philly-emo-post-hardcore-scene |website=34th Street Magazine |access-date=24 October 2023}}</ref><ref name="Tedder, 2023">{{cite web |last1=Tedder |first1=Michael |title=Open Up the Pit: The State of Hardcore in a Post-Turnstile World |url=https://www.theringer.com/music/2023/3/8/23628263/the-future-of-hardcore-turnstile-militarie-gun |website=The Ringer |date=8 March 2023 |access-date=26 October 2023}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://xpn.org/2022/08/25/mewithoutyou-final-show/|title=Farewell, mewithoutYou: Scenes from the Philly post-hardcore faves' final show|date=August 25, 2022|author=Vettese. John|publisher=XPN}}</ref>
== Influence == [[File:Foxing Band Member.jpg|thumb|right|Fourth wave emo band Foxing's album ''Nearer My God'' (2018) 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.<ref name="Vulture, 2019">{{cite web |title=103 Days That Shaped Music in the 2010s The songs and shows and beef and overdue cancellations and heartbreaking losses and so much more. |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/100-music-moments-that-defined-2010s.html |website=Vulture |date=31 December 2019 |access-date=29 October 2023}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Galil |first1=Leor |title=As Wicca Phase Springs Eternal, Adam McIlwee threads together emo, trap beats, and occultism |url=https://chicagoreader.com/music/as-wicca-phase-springs-eternal-adam-mcilwee-threads-together-emo-trap-beats-and-occultism/ |website=Chicago Reader |date=27 April 2018 |access-date=29 October 2023}}</ref>
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.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Feibel |first=Adam |date=2021-05-25 |title=The New Generation of Emo In Eight Releases |url=https://daily.bandcamp.com/lists/fifth-wave-emo-list |access-date=2023-05-04 |website=Bandcamp Daily}}</ref> ''The Ringer'' writer Ian Cohen states fifth wave emo began as early as 2017 and that these emo groups were influenced by bands such as Crying and the Brave Little Abacus.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cohen |first1=Ian |title=Thirteen Emo Playlists to Melt Your Black Heart |url=https://www.theringer.com/music/2022/7/26/23278301/emo-subgenres-playlists-skramz-emogaze-fifth-wave-jade-tree |website=The Ringer |date=26 July 2022 |access-date=26 October 2023}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":0" /> 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.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Woodley |first=Pauline |title=Gen Z Is Bringing Emo Back, But This Time It's Not Just A Bunch Of White Dudes |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/paulinewoodley/gen-z-bringing-emo-back |access-date=2023-05-04 |website=BuzzFeed News |date=5 May 2021}}</ref> Notable fifth-wave artists include Home Is Where, Dogleg, Glass Beach, Origami Angel, Pool Kids and Awakebutstillinbed.<ref name=":0" />
{{anchor|Emo revival revival}} In a 2017 article, ''Spin'' discussed a wave of "newer darlings" who were reviving the emo revival sound, calling this the "emo revival revival".<ref>{{cite web |title=30 Best Emo Revival Albums, Ranked |url=https://www.spin.com/2017/06/best-emo-revival-albums-ranked/ |website=Spin |access-date=4 February 2026 |date=14 June 2017}}</ref> By 2024, this title was being attributed to See Through Person and Ben Quad on their album ''I'm Scared That's All There Is'' (2022),<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sacher |first1=Andrew |title=Notable Releases of the Week (10/25) |url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/ben-quad-laura-marling-soccer-mommy-hey-ily-bunuel-pest-control-see-through-person-trauma-ray-katie-gavin-reviews/ |website=BrooklynVegan |access-date=4 February 2026}}</ref> and was being used as a self-identifer by Kerosene Heights, to reference their revival of the very early emo revival sound Algernon Cadwallader and Glocca Morra.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sacher |first1=Andrew |title=10 emo bands you need to be following in 2023 |url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/10-emo-bands-you-need-to-be-following-in-2023/ |website=BrooklynVegan |access-date=4 February 2026}}</ref>
By 2023, remaining fourth-wave emo bands like Citizen, the Hotelier, Foxing and the Wonder Years began touring for the tenth anniversaries of their most influential records and receiving renewed critical acclaim.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sacher |first1=Andrew |title='In Defense of the Genre': Best Punk & Emo Songs of June |date=6 July 2023 |url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/in-defense-of-the-genre-best-punk-emo-songs-of-june/ |access-date=26 October 2023}}</ref>
During 2025, many bands who had been involved in the emo revival pushed their sound to be more aggressive and political. Algernon Cadwallader did so on their fourth album ''Trying Not to Have a Thought'', which criticised anti-homeless architecture and the 1985 MOVE bombing; The World Is a Beautiful Place did so on ''Dreams of Being Dust'', which discussed the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; and La Dispute did on ''No One Was Driving the Car'' which discussed the climate crisis.<ref>{{cite web |title=Algernon Cadwallader — Swim Selects |url=https://swimintothesound.com/swim-selects/tag/Algernon+Cadwallader |website=Swim Into The Sound |access-date=17 March 2026 |date=16 September 2025}}</ref>
== 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 that, as a result of increasing usage of the Internet to discover music, people have stopped paying attention to locale-based underground emo.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/325-dont-call-it-an-emo-revival/|title=Don't Call It an Emo Revival|website=Pitchfork|date=29 April 2014|accessdate=6 January 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://nyulocal.com/3-reasons-the-emo-revival-is-bullshit-86ca630b1cbc/|title=3 Reasons The Emo Revival Is Bullshit|author=Adam Cecil|website=nyulocal.com|accessdate=6 January 2018}}/</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/music/midnight-sun-blog/bal-into-it-over-it-leads-an-emo-revival-story.html/|title=Into It. Over It. leads an emo revival|author=Wesley Case|website=Baltimoresun.com|accessdate=6 January 2018|archive-date=6 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180106120403/http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/music/midnight-sun-blog/bal-into-it-over-it-leads-an-emo-revival-story.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
During the emo revival, music scholars began to consider emo music's relationship to misogyny and sexism.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=de Boise |first=Sam |date=2014 |title=Cheer up emo kid: rethinking the 'crisis of masculinity' in emo |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0261143014000300/type/journal_article |journal=Popular Music |volume=33 |issue=2 |pages=225–242 |doi=10.1017/S0261143014000300 |s2cid=233321525 |issn=0261-1430|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The emo revival was also notable for revelations of sexual harassment and assault committed by members of emo bands, such as Brand New,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yoo |first=Noah |date=2017-11-13 |title=Two Alleged Victims of Brand New's Jesse Lacey Detail Years of Sexual Exploitation of Minors |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/two-alleged-victims-of-brand-news-jesse-lacey-detail-years-of-sexual-exploitation-of-minors/ |access-date=2023-05-04 |website=Pitchfork}}</ref> leading to a wider conversation about sexism within emo scenes.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pelly |first=Jenn |date=2017-11-17 |title=Unraveling the Sexism of Emo's Third Wave |url=https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/unraveling-the-sexism-of-emos-third-wave/ |access-date=2023-05-04 |website=Pitchfork}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}} {{Emo}} {{Punk rock}} Category:Emo Category:2010s in music Category:2010s fads and trends Category:Alternative rock genres Category:Indie rock Category:Punk rock genres Category:Post-hardcore Category:Pop punk Category:American styles of music Category:Rock music genres Category:Retro-style music