Have You Seen The Size of This Couch?

It is here… the week of Midwest emo! I am SO excited to dive into this beautiful sub-genre that is welcoming, vulnerable, mathy as hell with them there gheetarz, and that welcomes good times. Let’s jam, friends!

(title is a reference to Tiny Moving Parts… there is a rec for their tunes below)

A Brief History… Expounding on Last Week

Last week, I sort of hinted at emocore becoming popular in the midwest, and that was on purpose. As emocore started to take hold, it made its way into other regions of the US but stuck out particularly well in one. This is what takes us to the Midwest! Through the inspiration of emocore, the subgenre of Midwest emo was created. Midwest emo is a response to post-hardcore and is that sonic change/journey similar to what we saw out of emocore as it relates to hardcore. Said another way, emocore groups inspired a wave of musicians to experiment with their own perspective on making music! These musicians felt empowered to create something that was different, the beauty of art truly. Ya love to see it!

Midwest emo looked to turn the aggression and anger seen in emocore and post-hardcore into a more dynamic place with varying tempos throughout the record and with a lot more melody. The biggest appeal of Midwest emo to me is that it combines two things in music that impact me (and many others) the most — loud and fast, soft and sincere. The lyrical content, melodies, linear high-tempo drum fills, and crazy fast arpeggios lead to a song structure that takes up and downs, which is sort of poetic in its relation to the human condition.

this is me frfr when midwest emo comes on (but like honestly all the time... lol)

❗️❗️WARNING: LOTS OF RECS AHEAD❗️❗️ 

I can’t really help myself but to offer a lot of recs here, I love this subgenre and it deserves it. So strap in, and set aside some time to be happy, you deserve it.

American Football- American Football. What an album to introduce to you here! If you have not heard this before, it is a treat for the ears. I recommend you kick it off at the top of the album. Expect to hear sounds that you will hear consistently throughout the subgenre, they are pioneers here.

album rating - 8.5/10, fave track - Never Meant

Modern Baseball - You’re Gonna Miss It All. This is a record that I come back to pretty regularly, and have done so over the years. It is timeless, classic, and was the right album at the right time for so many people. Expect a vocal performance you won’t forget, with a sound that is so unique to them (pls come back to existence and make music Modern Baseball).

album rating - 9.5/10, fave track - Fine Great

Free Throw - Those Days Are Gone. This one is a little bit slower than the Modern Baseball record as it is lyrically very daunting and sad, for lack of a better phrase. Even with that, the vulnerability of the record is one that pulls me in and I enjoy the listen every time. Hard to pick a fave track!

album rating - 8.8/10, fave track - Two Beers In

Tiny Moving Parts- Celebrate. This is one of my favorite records of all time, across every genre. This came at such a pivotal time in my life, when I was experimenting a lot with music and it really defined my musical journey. I simply cannot recommend this record enough, truly cannot pick a fave track but I will! PLEASE JUST LISTEN TO THIS, FRIENDS! 😎 

album rating - 9.9/10, fave track - Minnow

Hot Mulligan - Opportunities. I think they have matured in their sound a lot over the years, into one I actually prefer. Then why did I rec this album over others? Well, the reason I picked this album to rec over “you’ll be fine” and “Why Would I Watch” is simply to do with the nostalgia it brings, when it came to me in my life, and that it has my fave song of theirs on there. But seriously, jam those other records too - you will NOT be disappointed!

album rating - 8.9/10, fave track - Dary

Mom Jeans - Best Buds. Quintessential to a Midwest emo playlist, a must listen - this record is really unique! While it is most definitely a Midwest emo sound, it is almost its own universe in that it sounds so different from other Midwest emo bands, partly to do with the production choices of the record. To be real, expect nonsensical song titles, fantastic drumming, and addicting melodies that will have this one on repeat for you.

album rating - 9.7/10, fave track - Scott Pilgrim vs My GPA

I hope you all have enjoyed this week’s Finetuned! Share your thoughts by replying to this email here, or shoot me a message on Twitter. I want to hear from you! (email is fine too, [email protected])

Please do share Finetuned with your friends & fam! I believe great music should be shared, cherished, and understood from all sorts of perspectives.

Little note here, most of the links to albums will be on Spotify, where I also have playlists that feature my recs based on the month their newsletter came out. You can find those here!

See you all next week! 🙌