Reno Kid

In the conversation about second wave emo, Europe's contributions to the scene are often omitted. This isn't that surprising considering the obscurity of those bands. It used to take at least a couple years for any given musical wave to cross the Atlantic in either direction, second wave emo being no exception. Most European bands working within the genre appeared near the tail end of the wave and never saw much exposure outside their own countries. These days, social media and music sites allow scenes to easily hop borders—look no further than the attention Russia's amazing emo scene is gaining in the US for proof.

Bearing the well-earned title 'The German Mineral,' Reno Kid were a midwest emo band, active from 1998 to 2002; here's a video of them playing in 2001. They arrived much too early for the internet to propagate their music and have never made the leap to digital, keeping them a hidden gem. As their moniker claims, they were indeed the German version of Mineral, and in fact one of the best takes on that sound that's ever been done outside of the originator. Reno Kid nail every aspect of this kind of midwest emo, from the bursts of energy to the quiet beauty. They released their only LP on Defiance Records, part of that record's legendary oeuvre along with like-minded bands Three Minute Poetry and Soulmate. This is first-rate midwest emo and Sun You've Got To Hurry ranks among my favorite albums of all time. In my opinion, there just aren't enough bands trying to sound like Mineral, but Reno Kid aren't trying: they're succeeding.

Reno Kid's first release was in 1998, a four-song split with Soulmate. They followed it in 1999 with another split, this time with Drifts Get Deeper. This release is interesting because it's actually two splits, one with six tracks on CD and a two-track 7". The 7" has a unique track on it apparently by accident, as it was not the intended song. 1999 saw the release of the incredible Sun You've Got To Hurry, not quite forty-five minutes of pure midwest emo. Sadly, this is the band's only full length release. The following year, they put two tracks out on different compilations and that was it. Considering the two year gap between the comp releases and them calling it quits, I have to wonder if they were recording new material that went unreleased.

Reno Kid's discography is made available courtesy of How Nothing Feels.

Reno Kid Discography