A History of Emo Music In Southern California

An abridged emo history by decade, subgenre, band, and scene.

GLOSSARY:

Post-Hardcore: a punk rock subgenre that emerged in the mid-1980s, retaining the raw intensity and aggression of hardcore punk while introducing more complex structures, experimentalism, and melodic elements.

Emo: a genre of cathartic punk/alt rock music derived from the hardcore genre known for its personal lyricism, loud/soft dynamics, and occasionally twinkly guitar work which all follow a distinct history and lineage.

Screamo: an aggressive offshoot of emo which began in the early 90s and is characterized by yelled or screamed vocals and dissonant guitar work.

Midwest Emo: a style of emo that originated in the early 90s that takes from the song structure (and occasionally vocal style) of previous emo bands, but imbues it with more melodic sensibilities and broader influences. 

Emo Pop: various styles of emo with a tendency for poppy song structures, brighter/softer guitar work and a heavy use of hooks and anthemic choruses.

When 80’s hardcore punk and post-hardcore bands in Washington D.C. (like the credited first emo band, Rites of Spring) started to play melodic, emotional music moving away from punk, the emo genre was born. As 90’s emo spread throughout the United States, the genre boomed in Southern California. 

Famous Screamo Band Heroin Live (Photograph: @mlflix/Instagram)

The 90’s

Out of San Diego emerged Screamo, or Spock Rock (named after the Star Trek character’s black hair bowl cut fashionable in the scene). Bands like Heroin, Antioch Arrow, and Mohinder were key in the development of the emo and post-hardcore scene in Southern California. The early 90’s SoCal emo/punk scene birthed DIY bands, held shows in houses, small venues, and tight-knit communities. Labels like Gravity Records and Ebulition Records developed the “San Diego sound.” In Los Angeles, where the scene was intertwined with its buddies down south, San Diego and L.A. bands played at the much loved hardcore venue Macondo in East Hollywood. Here are some 90’s SoCal emo tracks:

• Farewell - Justice League, 1987

• Small - Still Life, 1994

• Crickets (1996) - Strictly Ballroom

• No Más - Nuzzle, 1997

• Hasbeen - Heroin, 1993

• Glass Highway - Evergreen, 2003 (Reissue)

• Do You Compute - Drive Like Jehu, 1994

The 2000’s 

With the rise of MySpace and other online communities where emo people could gather, the emo scene in SoCal during the 2000’s developed into its most known for style. Black eyeliner, skinny jeans, and flat, straight jet-black hair with long bangs became the look (Mall emo’s). Local bands like Pierce the Veil, Saosin, My American Heart, Thrice, My Chemical Romance (first album only!) started to blend pop music with the emo music of their predecessors. Emo broke into the mainstream. MTV aired emo bands, artists were selling out Madison Square Garden. Many older emo fans rejected the new music, claiming it wasn’t similar to the genre they were familiar with. Local shows were still held in basements and small venues, but at this point absolutepunk.net, emo chatrooms, forums, #hardcore and #emo is where emos joined together. Here are some 2000’s SoCal emo tracks:

• Southern Constellations - Pierce the Veil, 2010

• Yellow Cat (Slash) Red Cat - Say Anything, 2005

• Finding Home - Saosin, 2006

• The Process - My American Heart, 2005

• Drowning Lessons - My Chemical Romance, 2002

• Punk Rock Princess - Something Corporate, 2002 

The 2010’s (And Late 2000’s)

After rock music stopped being the default genre of music, the mainstream popularity of emo music began to decline. Many bands disbanded, and many turned more to the pop side of the genre. However, a new underground movement, Fourth-Wave Emo or Emo Revival, flourished. The emo wave, looking to move away from the pop-y bands under the same genre, took heavy inspiration from the Midwest Emo movement of the 90’s. Many of these bands fused Math Rock (​​a subgenre of indie and rock music characterized by complex, unconventional rhythmic structures), post-hardcore, and a nostalgic DIY sound. Many fourth wave bands started in Southern California: Joyce Manor, Touché Amoré, Movements. On TikTok, over the last year or two, Midwest Emo/fourth wave emo music has gained massive popularity with thousands of videos using emo sounds. Venues in Los Angeles like the Smell and Echoplex were hotspots for LA emos. Here are some 2010’s SoCal emo tracks:

• Christmas Card - Joyce Manor, 2014

• Benediction - Touché Amoré, 2016

• Nineteen - Movements, 2016

• Fomo - Casual Friday, 2017

• Curbside - I’m Glad It’s You, 2014

• My Parent’s House - Flowers Taped to Pens, 2013

(Photograph: @claybirdsband/Instagram)

Emo Now

The modern emo scene in California, especially the Inland Empire, Orange County, San Diego, Santa Cruz, and, of course Los Angeles, is doing extremely well. Social media put new bands into the spotlight, many of whom are high school or college students. Emo music of the 90’s and Midwest emo continue to be revived, while new genres (like Sparklepunk and bedroom emo) have started incorporating electronic and even jazz music into their sound. In SoCal, the new emo style is face piercings, dyed hair, and skater-esque clothing. Famous bands (all mostly Screamo) include Widowdusk, Clay Birds, Noragami, Lost Not Found, punxsutawney (“slower emo”), as well as Taja, bedlam bedrest, Checkpoint Charlie, iwishpeoplelovedmeforme, and septemberistheonlytimeidontthinkofyou. In L.A., venues like the Teregram Ballroom, The Shed, Purgatory Pizza, and The Haven continue to be the go-to spots for emo bands. Here are some recent SoCal emo tracks:

• love you from mom and dad - Clay Birds, 2023

• Gavin’s Song (Just say I love you already)  - septemberistheonlytimeidontthinkofyou, 2023

• demo 24 - iwishpeoplelovedmeforme, 2024

• Silence - Noragami, 2025

• It’s a Kurt thing, YOU WOULDN’T UNDERSTAND - Widowdusk, 2024

• unmatched spirits, faithful death - aplacewe’vealwaysbeen, 2024