Emo pop, from the outside in. Each step is a genre and the single record this encyclopedia would put on first. Play them in this order and the last one should sound like a next step rather than a wall.
- 1 The way in
Rock 1954
The whole family: guitar, bass, drums and a beat borrowed from blues and rhythm and blues. Every branch below grows out of this trunk, metal included.
Sung. Melodic singing throughout.
Put on
The Beatles - Revolver, if you want to understand why everything branched so fast.
The Beatles, Revolver (1966) - 2 Then
Post-hardcore 1985
Hardcore that allows itself dynamics, empty space and irregular structures. Emo, screamo and mathcore all branch off from here.
Sung and screamed. Clean singing and harsh vocals trade off, often chorus against verse.
Put on
Refused - The Shape of Punk to Come. The title was an arrogant joke that came true.
Refused, The Shape of Punk to Come (1998) - 3 Then
Emo 1985
Hardcore in which the lyrics turn confessional and the voice cracks. The term started as an insult and became an entire decade of fashion.
Sung and screamed. Clean singing and harsh vocals trade off, often chorus against verse.
Put on
Sunny Day Real Estate - Diary. The bridge between DC hardcore and everything that followed.
Sunny Day Real Estate, Diary (1994) - 4 What you asked about
Emo pop 1999
The emo formula with a radio chorus and polished production. The version that reached MTV and the shopping mall.
Sung. Melodic singing throughout.
Put on
Jimmy Eat World - Clarity. The album before the success is the good one.
Jimmy Eat World, Clarity (1999) - 5 Where to go next
Britpop 1993
Britain answers grunge with Beatles-and-Kinks melody and lyrics about ordinary English life.
Sung. Melodic singing throughout.
Put on
Pulp - Different Class. The decade's best lyrics, and it isn't close.
Pulp, Different Class (1995)
Assembled from the tree: the root, the two genres directly above Emo pop, and Emo pop itself. Emo pop has no subgenres, so the last step is the genre that rates closest to it by sound.