Part 5: Beauty in Tragedy: The Marriage of Emo and Post-Rock

Today, we’re covering one of the most distinct and influential movements in Emo. The Appleseed Cast is likely the godfather of the Post-Rock / Emo hybrid, and they released several albums to explore that combination in various ways. Rolling into the 2000s, underground and basement Emo seemed to love this powerful fusion of genres as well, prompting artists from around the world to put their own spin on that sound.

Primarily, Screamo was the beneficiary of this movement worldwide. European bands like Daitro, Japanese bands like envy and American bands like City of Caterpillar forged legendary careers through the aggression of Screamo and the atmosphere of Post-Rock. Undoubtedly, this would trickle down into the non-Screamo Emo scenes as well. Some of the greatest releases of Third Wave Emo, and perhaps the genre as a whole, can be found in this section.

This section is one of my favorites, and I think my write-ups prove it. Post-Rock / Emo is one of the first kinds of Emo I really got into so this section holds a little special place in my heart.

Eyes of Autumn - Hello (8/1/2002)

Hello is the sole release from Eyes of Autumn, Emos out of Washington. Influence from bands like The Appleseed Cast are immediately evident with the airy Post-Rock instrumentation, the floaty, fleeting vocals and the syncopated rhythm section. However, Eyes of Autumn often visit the jazzier side of Math Rock, which is evident in the masterful drumming performance and the soft guitar tone. The singer’s voice is on the lower end, bucking Emo’s penchant for high-pitched whiny vocals. This band may not have been treading completely original ground, but they were an early innovator in what would become a legendary pairing of genres.

Pretty the Quick Black Eyes - Pretty the Quick Black Eyes (2002)

Combining traditional Second Wave Midwest Emo with spacey Post-Rock sounds with hints of electronics, this small project is a powerful listen.

Pinebender - The High Price of Living Too Long With a Single Dream (8/4/2003)

Pinebender released their debut LP in 1999, an interesting combination of Midwest Emo, Post-Rock, Slowcore and Indie Rock. Although none of those combinations were truly groundbreaking at that time, they had their unique twist on the formula. The High Price of Living compounds upon their first outing, focusing primarily on the Post-Rock atmosphere this time around. Huge, droning walls of sound meet the listener head-on while the vocalist’s soft singing voice serenades you with depressive lyrics. You’ll hear that Shoegaze influence if you listen to it long enough.

Simple acts of repetition give the songs here some sonic depth, somewhat making Post-Rock music with Slowcore as a guide, all while sticking to those beautiful Midwest Emo principles.

Statistics - Leave Your Name (1/20/2004)

Denver Dalley, best known for his stint as lead guitarist for Desaparecidos (who we will get to later), created his solo project Statistics after they disbanded. These two bands are extremely different, but Emo DNA is still found in both. Dalley utilizes Indietronica techniques to create a Post-Rock atmosphere while the meat and potatoes is just Midwest Emo goodness with a soft voice.

Mixing Emo with electronic elements, especially as a solo act, seems to be quite in vogue now, so it’s pretty neat that this exact experiment was done about two decades prior. If you enjoy the electronic components and the Post-Rock soundscapes, be sure to check out Statistics’ s/t EP, which contains a fair bit less Emo.

K.C. Milian - K.C. Milian (4/1/2004)

Italian Post-Rockers K.C. Milian could be considered silent legends in their scene, having come out with two mostly instrumental Emo-infused Post-Rock albums and a split with Italian Skramz legends La Quiete. The songs themselves are composed like Post-Rock songs with an emphasis on grandiosity, structurelessness and long instrumental passages; the actual timbre and style is Midwest Emo, including noodling riffs, trumpet and cathartic sections of vocals. This album is an interesting peek into what could have been if “Instrumental Emo” ever took off.

The Jesus Years - Are Matthew, Mark, Luke and John (10/1/2004)

You know exactly what you’re getting yourself into as you listen to the opening salvo, a 30-second superfluous drum solo that leads into some wonderful twinkles. The Jesus Years’ sole release as a band came out mere months after fellow European K.C. Milian released their nearly completely instrumental Emo album, although the core of the band had already debuted in the Emo scene a year prior as part of The Little Explorer, who I talked about in the Midwest Screamo section.

The actual music on offer is fantastic, a combination of Post-Rock and blistering Math Rock, all while low-key defining the Emo Revival sound. Perhaps they could be considered a Proto-Revival band, but this being instrumental gives the band a huge Post-Rock feel, so that’s why they’re here.

Youth Pictures of Florence Henderson - Unnoticeable in a Tiny Town, Invisible in the City (5/21/2005)

Youth Pictures is one of the most beloved and recognized acts in the How is Annie catalog of artists. Perhaps their best one. Unnoticeable in a Tiny Town is much more of a Post-Rock record than an Emo one, but with the twinkling with which they play, as well as the more traditional moments with vocals, the Emo influence stands out. The album is a scenic road trip in 45 minutes, showing the listener many beautiful sounds along the way. Post-Rock fans cannot miss out on this one.

Inválido - Regreso a Córdoba (6/25/2005)

One of the premier Mexican Emo artists of this time, Inválido did something that a lot in this section haven’t done: they created a Midwest Emo / Post-Rock fusion that features very little in the way of extra instruments or ambient tones. Rather, Inválido is a Midwest Emo band that plays Post-Rock. Regreso is a monstrous album at over one hour in length, each song averaging almost seven minutes!

Subdued but yearning vocals add ambiance to the Midwest Emo instrumentation, often rocking out in long vocal-less sections. Inválido managed to craft something that could fit in with American Emo and something unique to their country. If this description sounds good to you, do not miss out on this one!

Turpentine - Our Way Back To Chaos (7/26/2005)

A short-lived Emo / Post-Rock outfit out of Argentina, Turpentine lay the Post-Rock instrumentation on thick, but not without passing through some Emo corridors on the way there. The band’s feminine vocals are delivered in a rather restrained capacity but occasionally enter a different stratosphere together. There aren’t a ton of ambient tones in this one, but rather a collection of Emo songs that comprise a Post-Rock album.

The band would release two more EPs in as many years before calling it quits in 2007. The Post-Rock influence only grows from their first release, so if you enjoyed this one, be sure to check out their other material.

The Summer We Went West - Following The Holy Moon Goddess (8/20/2005) 💎 (See Also: Part 9)

When I started doing research for this project months ago, I’d already known about and enjoyed TSWWW and their hidden gem album in 2005. However, I’d pegged this album as being a part of the Proto-Revival section and, while it could still fit in there, I think the Post-Rock section actually fits more accurately, for reasons I’ll detail below.

The band opts for an experimental writing approach to Midwest Emo, including both acoustic and electronic instrumentation retrofit to classic Emo. There's a slightly folksy vibe about them, but Post-Rock seems to be the most powerful influence; the Turn trilogy feels out of place without acknowledging how much they owe to the genre. The vocals are embarrassingly raw and confessional, grounding this somewhat floaty record. This little-known release stands the test of time, being a wholly original piece of Emo history when no one expected it.

Johnny Foreigner - We Left You Sleeping and Gone Now (2005) 💎

A unique, eclectic and highly personal collection of songs, this is the one and only time the world would ever hear Johnny Foreigner this way. The UK Emo-Pop legends released this full-length demo several years before their official debut LP, and the differences in sound are stark. Noticeably, the production is more lofi and basement than their future work, which would come to sound very polished.

Catchy vocal melodies were also less of a priority, instead making way for the anxiety-inducing Post-Rock atmosphere and twinkly Math Rock noodling that permeate this release. If you are looking for an album that encapsulates the subdued dread of early Spring, please give this one a listen. Their next demo would come out two years later and feature a sound much closer to their Emo-Pop greatness.

Empty Siolos Echo War - Inner Working Mechanics of a Failed Construct with Puritan Cement (2005)

We’ve seen Post-Rock / Emo artists create their atmospheres in various ways on this list. Empty Silos does so with pensive buildups and tumultuous crescendos.

The Newfound Interest in Connecticut - Tell Me About the Long Dark Path Home (2005) 🎩

Cold, urgent, anxious and cryptic are how I’d describe the atmosphere of a typical song on this album, which doesn’t even describe the actual music in the songs! Newfound Interest in Connecticut is one of the most legendary bands on this list, having only released one LP that has since garnered an insane cult following.

The songs are about a 50/50 Post-Rock / Midwest Emo split in terms of genre dynamics. You will be lost in the seemingly endless sonic corridors, allowing your mind to race frantically in anticipation of the busy, mathy Emo sections. The drummer is the star of the show here, constantly performing complex and spazzy beats. The bassist does their best to keep up with the insane rhythms while at times being a lead instrument. The guitar tones are impeccable and give the band a signature sound. If that all doesn’t sound like a panic-inducing nightmare, the vocalist’s stressed-out singing style certainly will.

The Appleseed Cast - Peregrine (3/21/2006)

T-Tauri - Infinite Motion (5/16/2006)

T-Tauri was an obscure Emo band from Colorado who formed at the forefront of the Second Wave in 1993! After releasing an album in 1997, they recorded their final work, Infinite Motion, in 1999 before disbanding. In 2006, it finally surfaced. Taking cues from early Post-Rock / Screamo combinations and utilizing some truly basement-sounding production values, they create a dark and dingy atmosphere. The vocalist belts out mysterious, longing melodies that add cryptic elements to the music. The band never quite pushes into the next gear like other Screamo contemporaries, including in the scream-less vocal performance. Overall, if you enjoy mid-tempo chaos, long, repetitive instrumental passages and lofi production, you owe it to yourself to listen to this intriguing relic of Emo and Post-Rock history.

The Summer We Went West - 2006 Tour CDr (6/1/2006)

A Bunny’s Caravan - Draining Puddles, Retrieving Treasures (8/21/2006) 💎

Possibly the best and most well-known release from the How is Annie catalog, Draining Puddles, Retrieving Treasures is the band’s sole release and is legendary in the Norwegian Emo scene. And yet, it was as renowned as it was enigmatic; the band was only made up of two members who recorded this album and dropped off the face of the Earth without so much as rehearsing for a show.

“Epic” might undersell the grandiosity that A Bunny’s Caravan aimed for on this LP, and they hit the bullseye. When the band turns up the atmosphere, you can feel yourself completely engulfed in a wall of sound. They’ll then switch into a quiet, melodic passage that feels so intimate that it’s wrong to listen to. If you ever wanted a peek into the Norwegian Emo scene, this is probably the best place to start.

The December Drive - Arrivals/Departures (12/22/2006)

Although The December Drive have crafted lush musical atmospheres since their inception as a band, Post-Rock was more window dressing than a truly substantive part of their sound. However, on their first and only EP Arrivals/Departures, Post-Rock influence is far more prominent. In particular, the spacey guitar tone does a lot of the heavy lifting. The music itself is a nice combo of Emo and Post-Hardcore, though I’d be hard-pressed to say anything measures up to the immense heights of their debut LP. Regardless, this is still a worthy release deserving of your time.

Rika - Rika (2006)

This self-titled album is the debut LP for Rika, Austrian Emos partial to Post-Rock. Rather than employing synthesized ambient tones to artificially create a musical atmosphere, Rika utilizes time-tested Emo tropes - twinkly riffs, quiet-loud dynamics, raw production - and incorporates elongated instrumental passages, lengthy, dreamy song structures and the occasional horn section, to concoct a nearly-one hour aural experience.

Rika would go on to have a few more releases, notably a split with fellow Austrians in Everton. If you enjoy a naturally rich sonic environment filled with sadness, Rika’s s/t might be the album for you.

Turpentine - Honey Births, A Salt Troupe (2006)

Moving Mountains - Demo (2006)

Before Gregory Dunn’s voice would deepen for Moving Mountains’ debut LP (and subsequently deepen again by the time they released their next EP), a young high school Greg almost singlehandedly created the prelude to the genre-defining Pnuema. Some tracks are demo versions of future songs with a select few basically being alternate versions of the main tracks, while some are exclusive to this release. If you can stomach the higher-pitched voice and the poor production quality, this is an interesting preview into what would become a legendary band.

Moving Mountains - Pnuema (2/5/2007) 🎩

In truth, I’ve been somewhat dreading getting to this part of the series. Moving Mountain’s seminal 2007 debut LP Pnuema is special to me and has been in my rotation for almost half of my life. This album almost singlehandedly got me into Emo and Post-Rock, even if my insane affection for Emo bloomed some years later. It melts my brain that Gregory Dunn, while in high school, wrote the entirety of this album sans the drums.

From start to finish, the music captures that fleeting feeling of grief on a late night in early autumn, largely through the nature-laden allegories of the lyrics and brilliant atmosphere. In true Emo fashion, the music constantly builds to varying crescendos, only to level out in equal measure during the quiet sections. The guitar tone is perfect for the brisk yet melancholy riffs and the singer’s incredible passion seeps from every note he hits.

Pneuma is a diary, each song a painful entry that ends with catharsis.

Rest of My Life - All Pretty People Live in Airports (4/16/2007)

Rest of My Life makes another appearance in this project, five years after their debut s/t LP. In that time, Rest of My Life began to shed their Second Wave shell to reveal more modern production, more pronounced Post-Rock influences and some Indie Rock tropes thrown in for good measure. Whether you prefer their first album or this one is irrelevant as both are pretty awesome for different reasons. The band would pretty much run out of steam following this up, though, as their next album would be their final - and it’s generally not received too well.

Make Amends - Because Nobody's Real (7/10//2007)

With their sole release, Make Amends unleashes a forward-thinking piece of Emo. Generous usage of dreamy synths and guitar tricks makes this an airy listen but don’t confuse that with complacency. Make Amends spearheads their music with plenty of experimentation, from Indietronica influence to Chiptunes, Dream-Pop to Post-Hardcore. At times, this may feel like more of a Post-Rock album, but you’re quickly reminded that this is Emo when the depressive vocals kick in with cathartic choruses over a masterful demonstration of quiet / loud dynamics. Beware the massive 1+ hour length.

City Breathing - Look How It’s Snowing Upwards, Look How They Move Towards Heaven (4/4/2008)

City Breathing falls much closer to the Post-Rock side of the spectrum, but their Midwest Emo influences - such as in the vocals and guitar riffs - are prominent enough for me to put them on this list. If you enjoy lengthy songs with ethereal atmospheres sung with a soothing yet solemn voice, City Breathing has you covered with this debut LP. This release is hypnotizing but is bereft of that edge that good Emo tends to have. Regardless, if you enjoyed this, check out their other recorded material.

Charge Group - Escaping Mankind (8/23/2008)

Rising from the ashes of obscure Sydney Post-Rock outfit The Instant (which in and of itself rose from the ashes of Purplene, who we will see a bit later on in this list), this is heavily Post-Rock-infused Emo is about as chill as it gets, many thanks to the Slowcore influence that’s been present in these musicians since the late 90s. In addition to clean, sly guitar riffs, there is an abundance of string sections in most of the songs that create a dynamic sense of ambiance. The constant crescendoing and mellowing out of the music shows the range of volumes these Aussies can play.

Matt Blackman, Adam Jesson and Matt Rossetti should be proud of themselves for carrying the underground Sydney music scene for so many years, especially with their sadboi vibes. Charge Group would release one more album in 2012 before calling it quits.