The difference, by ear
Easycore is pop punk with metalcore breakdowns inserted. Remove the breakdowns and it is pop punk.
Pop punk is sung cleanly where easycore is part sung, part screamed, at much the same pace, around 150 to 200 bpm. To hear the difference, play New Found Glory next to Ramones. Easycore grew out of pop punk, 30 years later. United States appears in the origins of both.
In figures
Easycore
Where it sits
Rock › Punk rock › Pop punk › Easycore
In short
Pop punk with hardcore breakdowns glued into the middle. Sweet chorus, hammer at the end.
How it sounds
- Pop punk verses and choruses interrupted by a hardcore breakdown.
- Modern production with guitars tuned lower than in classic pop punk.
- Sung vocals alternating with short shouts.
Key acts
- New Found Glory
- Four Year Strong
- A Day to Remember
Start here
The pickA Day to Remember - Homesick. The most effective sweet-to-brutal switching in the genre.
Full page →Pop punk
Where it sits
In short
Punk speed, garage-pop choruses and lyrics about suburban boredom.
How it sounds
- Simple major progressions - I-V-vi-IV - played fast and distorted.
- Choruses with vocal harmonies and singalong 'whoa-oh' hooks.
- Clean production, compressed drums, tempos of 160 to 200 bpm.
Key acts
- Ramones
- Green Day
- blink-182
- The Offspring
Start here
The pickThe Descendents - Milo Goes to College. The manual, written twelve years before the boom.
Full page →