Part 10: The Flames of the Fourth Wave Begin With a Spark

We have now reached our final section of this series. We opened up the very first part by discussing Second Wave Emo artists who were still releasing Second Wave-inspired Emo in the Third Wave. Naturally, I will bookend this entire project by talking about Fourth Wave Emo artists who got their start sometime before 2009. Many of Fourth Wave Emo’s earliest classic albums actually came out in 2008 in particular, a landmark year for the genre. After reviewing everything else in this whole series, these releases are sort of the denouement of Third Wave Emo, showing how the underground / basement / DIY scenes all over the world kept its spirit alive.

Algernon Cadwallader - Demo (4/15/2006)

Following up on projects like Halfway to Holland and Ryerose, Peter Helmis and Joe Reinhart reunite for a more traditional take on Midwest Emo. Their first four-song demo was released in 2006, featuring what can only be described as Kinsella worship. It’s been said to death, but Algernon exhibits copious amounts of Cap’n Jazz influence in their music, from the reckless abandon of the vocals and lyrics to the jangly, twinkly riffs. Although the band’s best and most memorable work was yet to come, this EP left the door ajar for the Emo Revival to later bust down.

TTNG - Hippy Jam Fest (4/28/2006)

TTNG actually released their first piece of music in 2003, a demo that showcased their mathy preclivities, though harsher than their future releases. Even this, their first proper EP, is a bit more rugged than their more Math-Pop-laden work later on, although the evolution into the band they’d become was well underway. Generous use of volume dynamics, irregular time signature usage, cool riffs and saidboi vibes are all here. The band would go on to be one of the most important UK Emo / Math Rock bands of all time, and we’ll see why later on in this list.

Empire! Empire! (I Was a Loney Estate) - When the Sea Became a Giant (1/16/2007) (See Also: Part 2)

The first outing for Emo Revival Juggernauts Empire! Empire!, the band’s legacy for crafting biting, poignant Midwest Emo begins with the opening salvo on the first track of this record. The bittersweet magnificence that defines the band’s sound is created with a heartrending guitar tone, emotionally raw vocals, abreactive lyrics and awe-inspiring song builds. While building off the legends of the genre such as Mineral, Empire! injects their own energy into their music, and it’s readily apparent even with their first EP.

The band would become legends in the genre with a cavalcade of releases, many of which being splits with fellow legends and hidden gems of the genre. Does this EP touch What It Takes to Move Forward? I mean, can anything? That said, the building blocks were there from the start.

By Surprise - Four on Seven in Eight (AKA 478) (4/1/2007)

Despite leaving their indelible mark on the Emo Revival with a 2009 LP split with Hightide Hotel, the band is still a nightmare to Google. As such, this Indie-laden Midwest Emo release has very little information. There seems to be conflicting reports on this release date, but I personally believe the 2007 date.

With raw production, reckless yet catchy vocals, refreshing chord progressions and at less than 10 minutes, this is an easy listen to future underrated Revivalists.

Weatherbox - American Art (5/9/2007) 💎

After releasing two proof-of-concept EPs, Weatherbox's debut LP was released in 2007. Whether you consider this band Proto-Revival, Emo Revival or something else, it doesn't really matter. Warren's tortured voice, his world-weary lyrics and the deceptive complexity of the music provide for one Hell of a release from these San Diego natives.

At 50 minutes, this album is actually quite an easy listen. The variety of songs on offer, as well as the general flow of the record, transports the listener into the world of American Art seamlessly. Weatherbox would continue releasing music until 2014, right at the height of the Revival. Fortunately, they just released a new single this year!

Annabel - Now That We’re Alive (11/17/2007)

Humble beginnings for under-the-radar Emo Revival outfit Annabel, their demo EP Now That We’re Alive showed all the promise that this band possessed, even in their early days. A nice little variety of sounds punctuate this ultimately laid back and inoffensive release. I’d recommend giving their discography a shot if you enjoy this demo.

A Great Big Pile of Leaves - The Fiery Works (11/20/2007)

Slidey, bendy, mathy and just plain fun, A Great Big Pile of Leaves’ debut EP showcases all of the band’s strengths in a neat sub-20-minute package. AGBPOL managed to craft a slice of Emo all their own with their defining guitar techniques, catchy vocal melodies and syncopated rhythms. While somewhat poppy at times, they seem to be capitalizing more on Math-Pop than Emo-Pop.

The band would go on to release another EP before the Third Wave was up - and are still around to this day!

Everyone Everywhere - Pants (2007)

The debut EP from Philly-natives in Everyone Everywhere, the band’s signature approach to writing music is on full display with an airy combination Emo, Indie Rock, Post-Rock and Math Rock. The band would go on to release two criminally-underrated Emo Revival albums in the early 2010s, expanding off of this already-impressive debut.

Brave Little Abacus - Demo? (3/1/2008)

Monumental doesn’t even begin to cover what Brave Little Abacus’ contribution to the Emo scene truly means. Solidly an Emo Revival band, Brave Little Abacus’ ultra-experimental guide to creating Emo music is still influencing artists today, being the basis for much of the Fifth Wave. Chiptunes, strange samples, weird noises, all of this is mixed in with unfiltered vocal hysteria. Literally, I cannot describe to you what this sounds like, you have to hear it for yourself.

This debut EP is somehow more unhinged and more straightforward than their future work, both at the same time. Don’t know what I mean? Give this legendary band a spin to see for yourself.

Transit - This Will Not Define Us (3/18/2008)

Stalwarts of the Soft Grunge movement during Emo’s Fourth Wave, Transit began their career with a strong Emo / Pop-Punk hybrid. Although some variation of those genres would be a part of their primary playstyle for the duration of their run, nothing would quite sound like this record. Quick lead melodies and straightforward rhythms drive the record forward.

TTNG - This Town Needs Guns (4/1/2008) 🎩

TTNG, then known as This Town Needs Guns, released a self-titled compilation album in early 2008 with songs from their full-length split with Cats and Cats and Cats and other unreleased tracks. With just eight songs and without a designed sense of flow, this somehow manages to be the best TTNG record ever. This album includes a wonderful variety, from acoustic tracks to Math Pop jaunts to heavier Emo sections.

If you are a fan of Math Rock’s association with Midwest Emo, this album might just be the pinnacle of that sound. The twinkly riffs are impossibly clean and the subtly mathy song structures add sophistication and technicality to the project. This stands as possibly the best and most important British Emo releases of all time.

A Great Big Pile of Leaves - The Fiery Works II (4/22/2008)

While not utilizing quite as many guitar tricks as the band's debut EP, there is an admirable variety of songs on this short record. In particular, they embrace their inner Math-Pop band a ton. It's personal preference whether you prefer part 1 or part 2, but they both tickle that same spot in your brain that says, “Neat!”

Despite these respectable Emo releases, the band's best work was yet to come. Their sound was an injection of carelessness and vitality to the Emo Revival.

Algernon Cadwallader - Some Kind of Cadwallader (4/25/2008) 🎩

Some will say that the Emo Revival officially began with the release of this album, and I have no basis on which to argue. However, for the purposes of this series, I’m including everything from the year 2008, so here it comes at the tail end of Third Wave Emo! What more can I say about this record that hasn’t been recounted tirelessly by other Emo fans? Many will point to popular songs like Casual Discussion in a Dome or the title track being clones of the Cap’n Jazz sound, but if you listen to the entire album, you actually get an exceptionally solid and wonderfully varied work of art.

Algernon’s whimsical take on Emo consists of playful vocals, neverending guitar jangles, daring song structures and the perfect album flow. Surprising elements of Post-Rock can be found on this record, especially with a near-14 minute closing track. The music speaks directly to the yearning one feels deep inside for life to be simpler again.

La Dispute - Here, Hear (5/18/2008)

Following up on a forgotten debut EP that was entirely entrenched in a raw Post-Hardcore sound, La Dispute would pivot directions by the time their debut LP was released. Before that, the first of their Here, Hear EPs dropped, stripping away the frantic aggression and going into near-acoustic mode.

The vocals are exclusively even-keeled poetic spoken word while the rest of the band seemed content to create subdued mood music to accompany the artistic stories.

Balance and Composure - I Just Want to Be Pure (7/1/2008)

Before becoming a Soft Grunge powerhouse during Emo’s Fourth Wave, Balance & Composure (with an ampersand) released a demo EP, fusing the predominant sounds of the Second Wave ala Braid or Mineral and the Third Wave ala Taking Back Sunday and Brand New. The results are quite a fresh mix that shows how influential all Emo music has been over the years, even the dreaded 2000s era. This EP predates the band’s use of Post-Hardcore and occasional hint of Shoegaze, so it is somewhat simpler and more straightforward.

Hightide Hotel - Porch Luck (8/14/2008)

Like several other prominent Emo Revival bands, Hightide Hotel put out a small proof of concept EP, including one song that would later be used for their debut LP. What the band lacked in tightness they made up for in pure desire to create Basement Emo and all that it entails. Although not the band’s best release, it’s a solid roadmap to their early, unpolished sound while providing a true classic in the s/t track.

Tigers Jaw - Tigers Jaw (9/10/2008) 🎩

Progenitors to the Soft-Grunge movement that includes bands like Joyce Manor, Basement and Modern Baseball, Tigers Jaw's s/t is a masterful exploration of the intersection between Emo, Pop-Punk and Indie Rock. Their first album actually released in 2006, but was more of a subdued Indie and Slacker Rock record. Nonetheless, the band rerecorded a few of the tracks on that album to fit more closely with their new sound.

The vocals are often double-tracked or have tons of harmony, giving the otherwise chill and unassuming vocal melodies some richness and depth. And trust me, these words will get stuck in your head. There’s just a sincerity to the music, lying somewhere within the rhythm-oriented chord progressions and simple lead guitar melodies. This remains the band’s finest accomplishment.

TTNG - Animals (10/13/2008)

Extracting everything they could from both Midwest Emo and Math Rock, Animals is an ambitious concept album that pushes these genre classifications to the limit. Each song represents a different animal, so each song has a different flow and timbre. They capture the playfulness of a rabbit, the majesty of an Elk and the quiet nature of a Zebra, among others.

If this album had any sense of flow, it would be one of the top releases in this project. Regardless, this is a milestone Math Rock record and an integral part of the early Emo Revival.

Arrows - Modern Art & Politics (11/3/2008) (See Also: Part 2)

Criminally underrated Emos from Australia, Arrows debut album is perhaps their best work, seamlessly blending Midwest Emo with hints of Post-Rock, though done with a more modern Emo framework in mind. This album sounds like a slightly restrained Empire! Empire! release, perhaps only stopping short in terms of grandiosity. However, at 55 minutes and with calculated switches in volume dynamics, Arrows does a more than admirable job in that department.

The band would continue releasing albums until 2012, whereupon they’d appropriately been signed to Count Your Lucky Stars. However, after a promising split with Empire!, the band would cease to exist.

La Dispute - Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair (11/11/2008) 🎩

La Dispute's status as an Emo band is hotly disputed, but it doesn’t really matter to me either way. This band utilizes dynamic volume changes, has passionate vocals with cathartic lyrics and is tied to the Hardcore scene. And even though this album is equally indebted to Post-Hardcore, this album came out at the right time to help push Emo back to the glory days.

Spoken words and shouting are the methods Dreyer uses to punch the listener with raw emotion, heavily reinforced by the technical and varied instrumental accompaniment. Forget Emo - this is a must-hear album for anyone into heavier music.

La Dispute - Here, Hear II (11/11/2008)

Releasing the very same day as their acclaimed debut LP, the second volume in this EP series ups the ante from the first. The stories on offer are strong and are told in dramatic prose fashion and the tracks are quite memorable, thanks to the more varied instrumental approach. From Jazz to Post-Rock, this band's influences seem infinite.

A year later, they’d release the final Here, Hear in the miniseries. Fifteen years after that, they finally released another Here, Hear EP. They’re all excellent. Please check them out.

Glocca Morra - Museum Mouth (12/1/2008)

Legendary Twinkledaddies Glocca Morra formed in 2008 and managed to come out with a demo EP of sorts before the year had ended! Fortunately for us, this means more awesome Emo music to cover! Now, what’s a Twinkledaddy? Simple, really! Bands like Algernon and TTNG definitely fit, along with Revival bands like Snowing and The World Is a Beautiful Place, the latter of which coined the term jokingly.

With contemporaries like that, how could this not be awesome? Well it is, even if it’s only three proper songs and an acoustic song. Nonetheless, the band’s seemingly endless potential is showcased as soon as the first track. Despite the twinkling, this EP is a bit rough around the edges, giving it a tad of Punk cred (along with the singer’s gnarly voice).

Shapes Like Dinosaurs - Jurassic Geometry (12/21/2008)

Somewhat obscure Emo Revivalists Shapes Like Dinosaurs gave the burgeoning Emo Revival movement an early Christmas present with their debut LP, effortlessly encapsulating that Midwest Emo / Math Rock fusion that was about to blow up in the underground music scene. Despite hyperactive guitar and basslines, the tempo is quite passive, aided by the low-volume drum recording and simple vocal delivery. If you like some of the Proto-Revival releases on this list, you’ll probably really enjoy this one.

CSTVT - I Know What a Lion Is (2008)

Before releasing their landmark 2009 LP Summer Fences, three of the four first tracks on the album were previewed in this promotional demo. Castavet, later known as CSTVT, utilized Post-Rock extensively, shaping soundscapes and pulling great emotion from the listener. Midwest Emo is the meat and Post-Rock is the potato, the two genres complement each other perfectly. Although these tracks are amazing, they are only a sample of what was to come.