Stay Focused

In terms of representation, this blog tends to bias towards bands from the US. There's a few reasons for that. For one, the US is both a very large country and the birthplace of emo, and therefore the majority of emo bands are from America. Another reason is that bands from the US are simply more visible from within the country, on the internet and otherwise. It's very difficult for me to find bands from local scenes in other countries, especially non-English speaking countries. With the advent of Bandcamp and other online platforms, this is not so much the case anymore, but I know that there are many bands from other countries who existed in the 90s and 2000s that are now inaccessible to me. Despite this, I try to cover bands from everywhere, and like to think that this blog is a testament to the international appeal of emo.

Carrying on the spirit of the legendary German emo scene, Stay Focused are a band from Limburg, active from 2015 to the present. The band was formed from the ashes of two other projects, melodic punk outfit Whiteout Alley and the metalcore band As Seconds Become Centuries. They take inspiration from the contemporary bands of the emo revival, citing Hot Mulligan, Free Throw, and Tiny Moving Parts as direct influences, all of which can be heard—at least on their latest album. Stay Focused's sound changed considerably over the band's nearly decade-long existence.

Their first album, Contrasts, was released in 2018 and although there is a strong emo influence throughout the record, it primarily sounds like a combination of the two previous projects, blending melodic hardcore with a great deal of metalcore (their demo, released in 2015, even features a guitar solo). Over five years later, the band released their second LP, Values, in 2024. On this album, the band embraces the emo revival, leaving behind the metalcore (outside of a few select moments) but not entirely abandoning the melodic hardcore. They are a less twinkly band than most of their influences, leaning on heavier riffs and only rarely getting noodly in the Kinsella manner; good comparisons could be made to Kayak Jones and Arm's Length.

I hope these guys get some more attention within the ongoing emo revival, because I think Values is a great album. I really love the opening track, "Old Wounds", as well as "New Picture Frame." On a more personal note, I relate pretty hard to some of the lyrics as well. If you're at all a fan of contemporary emo, give them a listen.

Values

Stay Focused on Bandcamp

but if we never change our ways, we can only stay the same

The Oliver Twist

 

The Oliver Twist (later to be known as The Oliver Twist Band and then Eine Oliver Twist Kooperation) were a band from Cologne, Germany, active from 1999 until 2006. Their changes in name reflected a steady changing of their sound over each album release, starting in emo before moving into post-punk\dance-punk and finally ending at electropunk, moving them beyond the jurisdiction of this blog. But I've assembled their first three albums, all of which include emo to a varying degree.

Their first album, 1999's sweet, sweet and coffee talk, is pure 90s midwest emo pop, sitting somewhere between The Get Up Kids and Cap'n Jazz, with the vocal performance leaning heavily towards the latter. Just prior to the album, the band also released a split 7" with Colt with two songs, one of which was rerecorded for the LP. This first LP is my favorite of the band's releases, a great slice of late-90s emo pop. The band also contributed a track to the great Achtung Autobahn compilation, along with Reno Kid. Another band on that compilation, The Robocop Kraus, may have proven very influential, given The Oliver Twist's future direction.

Their next album, 2001's Automatic Construct Kill, isn't too far removed from the first in many respects—depending on the song. It brings in a lot more influence from post-punk and post-hardcore, being a bit harder-edged in general and showing early signs of the band's eventual sound with additional usage of synths and electronic beats. Two years later, the band would release their third album in 2003, which saw them moving an even greater distance from their emo roots. This change was marked by different branding; they became The Oliver Twist Band, a less abstract and slightly more formal version of the same name. While noticeable traces of emo remain, especially the emocore revival of the aughts, new tricks and traps is really a post-punk\dance-punk album.

In 2006, the band would rename themselves again, this time to Eine Oliver Twist Kooperation, and embraced an electropunk sound that is well outside this blog's focus. If you're interested, you can find the album on Spotify. New tricks and traps is also on streaming, but for some reason is missing the ninth track.

The Oliver Twist

Idle Mind

Idle Mind were a band from Littleton, Colorado, active in the mid-90s. Their label, Sh-Mow records, was based in Boulder. Sh-Mow Records is best known for releasing the Shmowballs compilation, which includes a couple bangers from Christie Front Drive and Small Dog Frenzy. The only contact information in the liner notes is for the label and, unsurprisingly for the mid-90s, the band had no website. The band's name also makes them extremely difficult to search, a difficulty only compounded by at least two other bands sharing the same moniker.

But there are some bread crumbs. Idle Mind played frequently with Space Team Electra, giving them an emo connection to Vine and Broken Hearts Are Blue. Idle Mind frontman Patrick Park would go on to have a solo career. He gave an interview in 2003 where both he and the interviewer were much harder on Idle Mind's output than I think it deserves (as an interesting aside, the article claims the album was released in 1996. However, since the art says 1995, I'm sticking with that unless more evidence surfaces it was delayed). Another bandmember, Roger Green, was a friend of Park's from high school, and was a member of long-running alt-rock outfit The Czars. Most notably for followers of all things emo, or, in this case, all things emo-adjacent, Sera Cahoone (incorrectly attributed as Sara Cahoone in the liner notes) would go on to greater things in Carissa's Wierd.

Travis M. described Idle Mind's sound as "Toad The Wet Sprocket meets Jejune." I don't know enough about the indie rock of the 1990s to expand on the first comparison, but the Jejune I definitely hear. Listening to 'Hold' or 'All I Am' makes the influence of midwest emo and emo pop very clear. That said, Idle Mind are firmly in the 'emo-adjacent' category, more of an indie rock band than anything else, at least to my ears.

The band's only album release is a self-titled LP from 1995. Aside from the album track on the Shmowballs comp, I can't find evidence of any other releases.

Idle Mind

Time To Fly

 Time To Fly were a band from Port Orchard, Washington, formed in 2001. Wikipedia says the band was active until 2005, but their website went offline in 2004, so that may not be correct. They are best known for their contributions to that holy grail of aughts emo pop, the Amped snowboarding series of games; more than half of the band's debut album was included in Xbox 360 launch title Amped 3 (fellow Pacific Northwest natives Woke Up Falling also contributed). The Amped series included such emo luminaries as Time Spent Driving, Sunday's Best, The Jazz June, and The Get Up Kids, but for the purposes of comparison I think it's important to specifically note the inclusion of Eleventeen, Brandston, and Places To Park. That's the frame that Time To Fly existed in, a combination of 90s and early 2000s emo pop with influences from midwest emo and, more prominently, alternative.

The band's first album is also their only album, 2002's birth.work.death. Their only other material seems to be three demos recorded the following year, which are available on this Bandcamp. The demos find the band moving away from emo pop towards indie rock, and it would have been interesting to see if that's where they went with a second album.

birth.work.death

Farewell To Youth

 Farewell To Youth were an emo pop band active in the mid-aughts, almost certainly from California and possibly from Santa Cruz in particular, which is where their label, Lorelei Records, was based. The band's vocalist was also in Audiocrush on the same label, so it's reasonable to assume they were from the same area. It doesn't look like the band ever had a website and it was likely a short-lived project, so information on them is sparse.

While Farewell To Youth has some things in common with Audiocrush, their sound was more emo pop than post-hardcore, with a little less influence from midwest emo and a little more from alternative, though neither is a particularly heavy presence. Their only release was a self-titled EP in 2004.

Farewell To Youth