Emo kid

I like having opinions about music.

[arsonmusic]

Skiimo - Skiimo

I stg, what was the marketing budget for this album? I cannot get away from it. This band only has 15k listeners on Spotify, and yet it's showing up on my emo mix nonstop. After a friend had the same thing happen to him, I decided to actually sit down and listen to the record.

There's something both modern and nostalgic about this album. Like yeah it sounds like a lot of 2026 emo bands, but it also feels a little like a classic pop punk album in a lot of ways but especially with the acoustic What Happened to You? right in the middle.

It's Not Very Effective gives me Pet Symmetry vibes. Which I used to love Pet Symmetry, but then I hated that song about marriage so much that I stopped listening to them. Not the point. Being compared to Pet Symmetry is a good thing.

I like when I listen to a band in 2026 and can tell that the artist and I like the same bands. It's cute.

This record does kinda hit my pet peeve of most of the songs have ridiculous names. A song name should help me identify and remember the song. A name like I Will Burn This Buffalo Wild Wings to the Ground will never stick in my head, and therefore I will probably never remember that I like the song. Not sorry.

I'm picky about my love songs, but I like Allison. It's a great song and it nicely wraps up the record.

I feel very complicated about when the best song on a record is the first song. And I think that's the case with this album - Calvin's Song fucking rocks. I'm gonna go give my dog a bone and tell her I love her. More emo songs about our dogs please. I think this song is gonna stick in my rotation. I hope Calvin is the dog on the album cover and that he enjoyed that hot dog.

Overall, I think this album is solid. I'm glad I listened to it, not that Spotify gave me much of a choice. It looks like they played some small east coast/New England shows about a year ago, and I hope they come back, whether that's as an opening slot on a bigger tour or in a bar.

[arsonmusic]

TTNG - Juggling Moves (Beginner)

I didn't grow up listening to This Town Needs Guns. I was aware of them, I think because of tumblr mutuals, 10-12 years ago. They were on my mind briefly like 6 months ago when I went down a math rock rabbit hole, but I went "this band is dead and therefore not worth my time." So imagine my surprise when one of my friends posted the new TTNG on his story yesterday.

Like I said, I didn't grow up listening to TTNG. I like math rock, as I've said before, but I don't know a lot about it. So I can't tell you if Juggling Moves is true to their sound or if it sounds like anything else or how it ranks or whatever.

I like the EP, but I don't think it's one I'm going to come back to, unless I'm really on another math rock kick. Each song is 4-5 minutes long, which is longer than my preference.

Goose Steppin' has a great outro, and I think the name is fun. Adieu has a great vibe and beat to it that I'm a big fan of. The song kinda loses me by the end though. I think it would have benefited from being shorter. At first listen, I thought For so Long, No Longer was my favorite song on the record. Listening to it a 2nd time though, I think I like Adieu better.

Overall, I liked it. If they do a US tour or pull out a full length record, I'll check it out. But I don't think this EP is gonna stick with me.

[arsonmusic]

Citizen - Halcyon Blues

I can't tell if Citizen and Joyce Manor have truly put out the best albums of 2026, or if it's just that my music taste hasn't changed since high school. I actually think I discovered Citizen through Tumblr, or at least, I remember blogging while listening to Everybody is Going To Heaven. Either way, Halcyon Blues delivers banger after banger while also leaving the listener to ask "Is Mat Kerekes okay?"

Honestly, I was kinda neutral on the singles, until Good Fortune was released. That's when I knew Citizen was so back. Which, as Good Fortune turns into I Can See You From Here, I can't believe I doubted them for a second. This song is classic Citizen in the way that it is so dynamic.

I had to look up what halcyon meant. It means characterized by happiness, success, and prosperity, or a calm and peaceful time. It also references a kingfisher bird in mythology.

Taking the first definition and the lyrics to the album's title track, this is really what makes me ask if Mat is okay. I'm not active enough in the MKU discord to know. The lyrics to this song are so incredibly emo and I love it, even if it is one of the more lowkey tracks on the record.

Is It In My Brain? is a standout, up there with Matador for my favorites on the record. It was here that I almost had to turn the record off because I was driving and I was distracted by how intently I was listening to it.

There's something different about Always the Last One to Leave. I still don't completely know how I feel about the song. Same goes for either way. I think both songs are good, they are just in an awkward spot on the record where they are in the middle and between Is It In My Brain and Matador, which as I said, are my two favorite songs. Either Way benefits though from again some incredibly emo lyrics.

I really hope they play Matador live. I think the venue would explode. They already perform with so much energy and that song is nuts. I can picture it in my head. I almost wish they had shortened this song and made it more of a hardcore song, rather than having the slower parts in.

Either Way and Ether are kinda the same song to me. It's not bad, but Ether is probably going to be the track I forget about.

I like Smooth Talker, but I think not as much as some of the people in the instagram comments. It's almost too formulaic of a Citizen song. Which it's good, I love Citizen, but it maybe doesn't stand out to me the way that it seems to be for others.

I liked Highs and Lows when it came out, but I think it surprised me how much I loved it in the context of the album.

I think they could have slowed down Anne even more. It's another slow/midtempo song that can get lost if you aren't listening to the lyrics. I think slowing it down would have made it stand out even more as the conclusion to record.

In conclusion, I like this record more and more every time I listen to it. I also will forever insist that Mat Kerekes has never written a bad song in his life. He is one of my all time favorite song writers and performers, and I am very hyped for their upcoming tour.

[arsonmusic]

Computer - Creature

I like math rock. The problem is I like vocals in my math rock, and when you go to the Spotify "This is math rock" or whatever it's called, most of the songs there do not have vocals (except that is how I discovered Delta Sleep, my beloved).

Speaking of Delta Sleep, I was really disappointed when Computer dropped off the Delta Sleep tour and was replaced with Combat. I like Combat too, but I thought Computer was a better fit. I saw Computer at the Counter Intuitive Records holiday show and thoroughly enjoyed their set.

Computer has mostly put out singles and one EP. Creature is their first full length record.

I discovered in researching for this post that their website is a fun little treat. I recommend checking out https://computerband.com/pages/home.

Their website specifically calls out that they're inspired by early 2000s Japanese math rock, which is not a scene I know anything about, as well as punk and emo. I do notice though that Creature leans into emo-revival. Idk maybe I've just been listening to a lot of emo revival lately (Sisyphus by Citrus Jr, my beloved).

It's harder to review a whole album than an EP. I can listen to an EP a couple times through in the time it takes me to write a post and go through song by song. That gets a little harder in a full length album. This is going to be my first reaction, but I plan on spending more time with this album, especially for the next time they come through Boston (whenever that is).

I was about to say I think Lost Confidence is the standout song on the album to me, but then I got to Memories. Between the twinkly intro and the borderline spoken word bridge, this song is gonna be insane live.

I can't figure out what song Take Back reminds me of, but I enjoy it.

Fix is a song where I spent most of it thinking "okay this is the same as every other song on this record" but then really enjoyed the way the song ended.

I'm not convinced that the songs on this record particularly stand out from one another, but they're good songs.

Overall, this is a record that pulls me towards being more interested in emo revival than more pop punk style 5th wave emo. Am I too old for emo revival? Maybe. Not going to stop me.

[arsonmusic]

Tiny Voices - my mind's recession

As I'm searching for Tiny Voices on Spotify to add to this post, I wonder if the band's name is a Box Car Racer reference. That album came out in 2002, wow. Anyway.

In general, I like Tiny Voices, but I do think they sound kinda like every emo band. We get it, you like Free Throw. Ironically, the Boston date of their last tour was the same night as Free Throw. I went to Free Throw, sorry.

On first listen, I might truly have nothing to say about this EP. Oof. I don't think it's bad, it's just not interesting to me. I promise I like this type of music, I grew up on pop punk and fourth-wave emo and clearly Tiny Voices did too. Maybe it goes back to what I was saying before, every band is trying to be Hot Mulligan.

Losing color is a really fucking emo song, lyrically, and I respect that. To the point where I wonder if I'm not sad enough anymore to get it.

I think oh boy! 3am! is my favorite song on the EP. This and the last song on the record feel particularly pop punk. I do feel like they really like the word "complacent." But I also think that resonates with me.

I'm gonna be honest, I do not have the attention span to read the song title. (how can i) take it one step at a time when everything is happening at once? I think you can shorten that one, guys. That being said, I do think this song is a fun pop punk/emo hybrid. Another standout on the record, even though I said the whole thing is forgettable.

Like I said, I like Tiny Voices. But unfortunately, I think Ben Luden's voice is the only thing memorable about this record. This might be a band where I continue to only listen to their most popular songs and never do the deep dive.

[arsonmusic]

Mallcops - 35mm Memories

I went into Mallcops's set not giving them a fair chance. I was at Nice, a Fest in Boston. It had been a long day, and it was their 45 minute set standing between me and Somos, a band I know and love. As their set went on, I warmed up to them more and more, eventually deciding that I really liked their songwriting. I didn't think I was going to go home and listen to them though. But I was getting into my car the next day with Peach Tree stuck in my head. Okay, I'll listen to that song again. And then the next day I was looking for something to listen to, and new thing I knew, I had this EP on repeat.

On Saturday, July 25th, 2026 Mallcops released an EP titled 35mm Memories. The first song, Make You Smile, rocks. It's got a fun little edge to it that I appreciate. It's not a song that is going to stick with me, per se, but I think it's good.

The title track has a great chorus. I want more of that chorus. I do want to note though it's Somerville, Massachusetts and I don't believe you can afford somewhere with a lawn.

Like I said, Peach Tree was the song that made me want to listen to Mallcops. It was the song that stuck out to me the whole show. It's fun and sweet, with a nice "swing" to it. I think I'm about to listen to it in my car every morning this week.

Doggy Bag also has a fun edge to it. This is a song that's going to keep me coming back to this record, instead of just having Peach Tree on repeat.

Wooly Mammoth is my least favorite song on the EP. It's kinda slow and not fun or catchy in the way the other songs are. Well I shouldn't say it's not fun. Singing about Wooly Mammoths is a fun topic. But still.

Feel So Cool was really good live and also stuck out to me during their performance. I think it wraps up the record well.

Mallcops, I'm sorry I didn't give you a fair chance. 35mm Memories is great and I will happily see you again.

[arsonmusic]

Riley! - To Live And Die In The American South

My friend was complaining recently that he thinks a lot of emo these days is too unserious. And honestly, I agree. I know ridiculous song titles have always been a thing, but I am going to set a curse on Hot Mulligan. I would be fine if I never heard another song featuring Tades. Why is he always there? That being said, I do think Another Round of Radical Ritas is the best song on the EP.

Two Bucks is pretty good. Tbh, I don't really know if Eric adds anything to the song, as much as I love Hammy.

Backseat Bartender is another song with an unserious name. And again, I'm not convinced Gabe Wood adds anything to the song. It's not bad, but I'm going to forget about it.

I'm not going to talk shit about 73 Summers, but it's a sad song that I don't relate to. Sorry.

I really like Roll for Initiative, but I'm not into D&D and I hate being left out of things, so I don't like the title. Again, get serious. It's a strong start to the EP though.

Overall, the whole EP is fine. I see them tomorrow and I think the songs are gonna be fun live. But they set the bar really high with Keep Your Cool, and this doesn't live up to that album to me. My ex likes it, so there's that?