The difference, by ear
The interlocking clean guitars and odd metres are shared, and several revival bands are claimed by both scenes.
Math rock is mostly instrumental where emo revival is sung cleanly, at much the same pace, around 100 to 160 bpm. To hear the difference, play The World Is a Beautiful Place... next to Slint. They share a root in rock, and math rock came first, by 22 years. United States appears in the origins of both.
In figures
Emo revival
Where it sits
Rock › Punk rock › Hardcore punk › Post-hardcore › Emo › Emo revival
In short
A new generation rediscovers the Midwest sound, this time with Bandcamp instead of fanzines.
How it sounds
- Home-recorded production with clean guitars and unprocessed vocals.
- Structures borrowed from Midwest emo, with tapping and open tunings.
- Long, nearly prose-like lyrics about anxiety and small towns.
Key acts
- The World Is a Beautiful Place...
- Modern Baseball
- Algernon Cadwallader
Start here
The pickAlgernon Cadwallader - Some Kind of Cadwallader. Cap'n Jazz reincarnated, unapologetically.
Full page →Math rock
Where it sits
Rock › Progressive rock › Math rock
In short
Odd meters and interlocking riffs assembled like a puzzle, usually without vocals. Post-rock's cerebral cousin.
How it sounds
- Frequently changing odd meters, often with two guitars in different metres at once.
- Clean or lightly overdriven guitars in alternate tunings, with tapping and harmonics.
- Usually instrumental; where there are vocals, they are spoken or whispered.
Key acts
- Slint
- Don Caballero
- Battles
- Toe
Start here
The pickSlint - Spiderland. Six songs that changed independent rock.
Full page →