At the end of June, underground Connecticut emo band the World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die landed on several Billboard charts with its debut full-length, Whenever, If Ever: number three on the Heatseekers and vinyl charts, eight on the Internet chart, 66 on the rock chart, and 196 on the Billboard 200. The album, which came out on tiny independent label Topshelf, might have done even better had it not leaked a month earlier via torrent site What.CD, undercutting potential sales before they could happen.
The first wave of emo (though of course no one thought of it that way at the time) was a reactionary movement within the mid-80s hardcore scene in Washington, D.C. Bands such as Rites of Spring, Embrace, and Beefeater turned against the “loud, fast, and angry” approach, instead slowing the music down, injecting it with lots of melody, and belting out lyrics that looked inward instead of lashing out.
It’s taken a few years, but fourth-wave emo is outgrowing the underground. Bands playing a pastiche of older emo sounds—Joie de Vivre, Empire! Empire! (I Was a Lonely Estate), Pianos Become the Teeth, Balance and Composure, Into It. Over It., Everyone Everywhere—have built international followings with the help of Tumblr, Bandcamp, DIY touring networks, and of course indie labels such as Topshelf, Count Your Lucky Stars, No Sleep, Run for Cover, and Tiny Engines. There’s a pre-existing audience so hungry for the sound that a “midwestern emo” tag on Bandcamp all but guarantees that people will find your music, no matter how obscure you are or what country you call home.
Ashdot’s experience is representative of the sense of kinship that crosses borders and generations to draw fans to the underground emo scene—a feeling of discovering something special, almost secret, that speaks to them and binds them together. The musicians look out for each other too: recently Rockford/Chicago band Joie de Vivre helped reunited Rockton emo group Gods Reflex (who were pretty obscure even in their late-90s heyday) book a headlining slot at the Beat Kitchen on Sat 8/10.
Sat 8/10, 8:30 PM, Beat Kitchen, $10, 17+.
