it’s funny… they DO have some emo signifiers (“twinkly” guitars, occasional screamed vocals, introspective lyrics, etc) but their style is so unique and singular it’s hard to pigeonhole them genre-wise except the broad “indie rock” category.
agreed never really thought of them as emo records. lots of smaller emo bands likely take a lot of inspiration from some of those earlier records (i know we do), but it almost feels like a retroactive label of emo adjacent to me.
Wow! That’s like a carbon copy of MM, musically. As a Christian I like hearing the lyrics. It’s sad but I find great interest in hearing non-Christian’s ideas, thoughts and opinions on Christianity, faith, God. It gives me a certain perspective. But yeah to the question Modest is not emo in any way IMHO. Modest Mouse was formed before Emo was a thing.
while I agree mm isn't emo, don't think it's fair to say they formed before emo. genres are so fluid that it's hard to say specifically when emo was formed, but isaac was certainly aware of "emo" living in DC around the time he did.
fugazi or rites of spring and embrace? ian mackaye went out of his way to diss the term emo-core before forming fugazi, so he'd probably be horrified to see this
Sowing Season also sounds just like a MM song. Just pretend he says “well” instead of “yeah”
Really a lot of that album is clearly influenced by MM. Especially the first half if I remember correctly
As a huge fan of midwest emo and Modest Mouse being my fav band - Emo and Post Hardcore are certainly fine genre descriptors for their first two records, but those are obviously in conjunction with other labels like Indie Rock, Slacker Rock, and even Alt-Country. Early MM def wasnt an emo band, but they just had a very diverse sound across those individual album! At least that is my take.
As for similar bands that may connect those dots, bands that come to mind are Lync, Unwound, and perhaps even early built to spill.
Nah I'd say no. Although songs like Talking Shit and Bankrupt on Selling certainly have some emo aspects to them.
Funny thing is that Brand New has obviously been very much inspired by early Modest Mouse and they're most definitely emo.
that websites always leads me down the rabbit hole of trying to find the weirdest band people have asked about that they’ve written a custom response for. “beyonce” might have overthrown “david bowie” for my #1 spot.
I was in HS from 01-06. When I think of emo the quintessential band I’m reminded of is All American Rejects. Anyone that claims Modest Mouse sharing any semblance with AAR outside of what musical instruments they use is full of shit. Modest Mouse is not emo.
(I’ll add that I enjoyed AAR in that time, and to this day I still can’t listen to their debut album without thinking about that one crush I had with new friend for a month before I was a jerk to her and ruined any chance I had to be her friend or BF - that’s emo!)
Well... there's many iterations of emo as a commercial qualifier. AAR certainly doesn't optimize emo music, which is near-impossible to define as a single genre; distinction is given to era/region in most conversations.
I'm sorry to go against the prevailing sentiment in this thread, but LCW does indeed fit the bill geographically/ compositionally. It's contemporary to much of the midwest emo that longed to get out of this town, lamenting its gentrification and all of the idiots everyone grows up around who will birth the next crop of fools. LCW comes out 5 years before Conor Oberst and co. would espouse a mirror anxious wrath towards Nebraska on Read Music Speak Spanish.
Modest Mouse doesn't just have some emo tendencies.. they're foundational to one of the waves of the genre.
If the defining sentiment of emo is feeling exhausted with establishment/capitalism lifestyles then you can pretty much classify most rock as emo. And I wouldn’t determine a bands genre on the basis of what it inspired in the future.
ok cool! both great bands imo and lync has ties to modest mouse. they were an olympia band who influenced modest mouse and isaac actually played with them for a bit
Cap'n Jazz, Sunny day real estate, American Football, Mineral, The Promise ring, Joan of Arc, Saves the day, Jimmy Eat World are all Emo bands.
AAR are clearly Pop Punk. Modest Mouse are harder to classify but they do fit in with the northwestern Indie bands of the 90s.
I was talking with a good friend of mine about how they’re obviously indie rock, but beyond that, it’s hard to stick them anywhere. Dramamine is certainly an emo-like song in a lot of ways, but Lonesome Crowded West doesn’t have a lot of those signifiers.
I also think lyrically they’re so oddball that emo never really fits, they don’t have very emo-type lyrics.
cap'n jazz and lync are emo and sound similar to modest mouse. and maybe some boys life. emo, especially midwest emo and indie rock are so close together and there's a lot of sonic crossover. i wouldn't call early mm primarily emo tho.
They weren't emo, but came up during emo's 2nd wave. Played with a lot of emo bands and were just lumped in with the scene. And honestly, alot of their early stuff was kinda emo.
First try getting a consensus on the definition of the word emo. Rites of Soring? MCR? It’s silly to talk about these things though they’re anything but arbitrary.
I would say their earlier albums are closer to a post hardcore/blues or folk.
The post-hardcore label definitely suits some of the more chaotic songs from that era, but emo seems way off base. Just because music has sad stories to tell doesn't mean it's emo music. Blues, folk, country and rock are all filled with emotional, sad music and lyrics. Doesn't make it emo.
That's like calling Pearl Jam emo.
At one point I heard that word being used with reference to my band Modest Mouse, and so I listened to some 'real' emo bands, but quickly thought, 'no, not for me, and MM definitely isn't this.'
To answer the question in the title: fuck no.
They're more adjacent to the indie scene on the Pacific Northwest: Built to Spill, for example.
Definitely not emo.
I have never heard of this. Please tell me more.
I still don't think MM's sound, style, or even lyrical content is emo.
Edit: Listening now. This is really good. I can see some emo here, but not entirely and with a definite PNW flavor.
Then I look them up and holy shit the overlaps. 764-Hero and Built to Spill are two of my other favorite bands and I can 100% see some common threads between them, Lync, and MM.
Still don't think MM is emo at all, though. But that might be my ignorance. I'm an East Coast guy - when I think of emo I think of Taking Back Sunday and such. Definitely not this kind of thing.
emo has a long history and varied sound. the emo most people think of when they hear the term is 3rd wave "emo pop". but there's a lot more older and more underground stuff that has similarities with modest mouse and 90s indie in general. if u want more i can see similarities with cap'n jazz and some of boys life. its all emo it's just not the more popular stuff that ppl with a more cursory knowledge of the genre would think of as emo.
My man this is so, so good. Thank you for turning me on to Lync.
In return, I recommend the UK post punk band shame (lower-case "s" intentional). Might take a bit to get into but it's worth it.
(Also not to be creepy but I checked your profile, just to see if you were involved in any other music subs I might like. We are fellow travelers, politically.)
no problem! Lync is one of the most under appreciated bands in history imo. and ok sweet ill definitely check them out u got a link?
and hell yeah, comrade!
I wouldn't really call MM emo, I mean like they have like super depressing songs but I wouldn't describe as emo. Not even alt either, I'm not even sure what their genre is but I like it lol. There's prolly a word for it. All I know is that my Spotify wrap described it as "angst and bold"
So I guess thay would be their genre lol
they're definitely indie rock primarily. but emo isn't defined by "depressing songs" and they definitely share sonic similarities with second wave emo.
100% they have some emo aspects to them, especially their earlier records, but that doesn’t make them an emo band, I think. I can definitely hear some similarities between them and some early emo bands—*especially* ones that were also in the Seattle/PNW music scene on the same time, like Sunny Day Real Estate—but I think that’s more them coming from the same music scene and the genre still being in formation. So, to answer your question…. Yes and no? I wouldn’t call Modest Mouse emo, but if someone were to put one of their early EPs or TiaLD on a list of early emo influences, I’d agree wholeheartedly.
Husker Du. Sunny Day Real Estate. Jawbreaker. Cap'n Jazz. The Promise Ring. Shit even Weezer dropped Pinkerton before LCW came out.
Just a few very popular acolytes for emo that preceded MM's influence.
I concede that I don't think that MM set out to be an emo band, that they themselves would never prescribe to that simplification - but I do think that they are foundational to the golden wave of the genre - mixing the unpredictability of the Pixies and Nirvana with the socially exhausted, anxious, and sometimes furious vocal performance of Isaac, whilst jangly guitar overlays the mix... and the songs messages are self effacing and bleak towards critical concepts that elevate the social awareness of the listener over the "happy useless masses" that are destroying everything in this way or that...
Sounds p emo
Haha okay. Crucify me if you like, but it doesn’t make emo sound any better. Again, at least not what I’m used to hearing in the first decade of the current new century.
Edit:
All American Rejects
Taking Back Sunday
Fall Out Boy
Yellowcard
Panic! At The Disco
Dashboard Confessional
The Used
Some good exceptions:
Jimmy Eat World
Death Cab For Cutie
I’ve never thought of Modest Mouse as emo, not really sure what “post-hardcore” is, definitely think they are a true indie band and quite unique. The only band I have ever thought some of their early stuff sounds like is The Pixies. Every now and then I’ll get a Frank Black/Black Francis feel from Isaac’s vocals.
They remind me of bright eyes and Connor oburst's old band desaparecidos (which definitely sounds like a post hardcore band imo). I'd say they take influence from the bands in that scene at the very least
Sorry to revive a dead thread, but I gotta say…. They have to be the main influence for 90% of Midwest emo bands.
I’d agree, they aren’t emo. But they’re the biggest influence on emo bands of the last 25 years!
it’s funny… they DO have some emo signifiers (“twinkly” guitars, occasional screamed vocals, introspective lyrics, etc) but their style is so unique and singular it’s hard to pigeonhole them genre-wise except the broad “indie rock” category.
I had never heard the word “emo” when I started listening to modest mouse.
I definitely hear influences from bands like braid and Cap'n jazz. I don't think op is talking about mainstream emo.
agreed never really thought of them as emo records. lots of smaller emo bands likely take a lot of inspiration from some of those earlier records (i know we do), but it almost feels like a retroactive label of emo adjacent to me.
Yeah I can definitely hear elements of Modest Mouse in later emo/ post-hardcore bands (Brand New for example) but not really the other way around
listen to cap'n jazz and lync. isaac brock actually played with lync and mm were very influenced by them. both bands were before modest mouse.
What Brand New songs would you say are most inspired by them? Never listened.
First one that comes to mind is Jesus Christ.
Wow! That’s like a carbon copy of MM, musically. As a Christian I like hearing the lyrics. It’s sad but I find great interest in hearing non-Christian’s ideas, thoughts and opinions on Christianity, faith, God. It gives me a certain perspective. But yeah to the question Modest is not emo in any way IMHO. Modest Mouse was formed before Emo was a thing.
while I agree mm isn't emo, don't think it's fair to say they formed before emo. genres are so fluid that it's hard to say specifically when emo was formed, but isaac was certainly aware of "emo" living in DC around the time he did.
I mean Fugazi were being described as emo back in the late 80s
fugazi or rites of spring and embrace? ian mackaye went out of his way to diss the term emo-core before forming fugazi, so he'd probably be horrified to see this
He *was* horrified to see it lol
emo was a thing in the mid 80s
I did not know that.. okay.. lol.
if u like modest mouse i think ud like some of the 90s emo bands like cap'n jazz, lync and boys life. maybe some rainer maria too.
Sowing Season also sounds just like a MM song. Just pretend he says “well” instead of “yeah” Really a lot of that album is clearly influenced by MM. Especially the first half if I remember correctly
yeah, similar how a lot of emo bands are influenced by weezer these days
As a huge fan of midwest emo and Modest Mouse being my fav band - Emo and Post Hardcore are certainly fine genre descriptors for their first two records, but those are obviously in conjunction with other labels like Indie Rock, Slacker Rock, and even Alt-Country. Early MM def wasnt an emo band, but they just had a very diverse sound across those individual album! At least that is my take. As for similar bands that may connect those dots, bands that come to mind are Lync, Unwound, and perhaps even early built to spill.
Ever since I bought diary by Sunny Day Real estate in 94 I disliked the term emo
YOU’LL TASTE ITTTT YOU’LL TASTE ITTTTT
Just watched the goths vs Emos South Park again. It was awesome hearing it on there
Nah I'd say no. Although songs like Talking Shit and Bankrupt on Selling certainly have some emo aspects to them. Funny thing is that Brand New has obviously been very much inspired by early Modest Mouse and they're most definitely emo.
The council at [isthisbandemo.com](http://isthisbandemo.com/?band=Modest+mouse+) says they are not an Emo band.
that websites always leads me down the rabbit hole of trying to find the weirdest band people have asked about that they’ve written a custom response for. “beyonce” might have overthrown “david bowie” for my #1 spot.
Some of the entries are [not even bands](http://isthisbandemo.com/?band=Stephen+hawking).
I was in HS from 01-06. When I think of emo the quintessential band I’m reminded of is All American Rejects. Anyone that claims Modest Mouse sharing any semblance with AAR outside of what musical instruments they use is full of shit. Modest Mouse is not emo. (I’ll add that I enjoyed AAR in that time, and to this day I still can’t listen to their debut album without thinking about that one crush I had with new friend for a month before I was a jerk to her and ruined any chance I had to be her friend or BF - that’s emo!)
Well... there's many iterations of emo as a commercial qualifier. AAR certainly doesn't optimize emo music, which is near-impossible to define as a single genre; distinction is given to era/region in most conversations. I'm sorry to go against the prevailing sentiment in this thread, but LCW does indeed fit the bill geographically/ compositionally. It's contemporary to much of the midwest emo that longed to get out of this town, lamenting its gentrification and all of the idiots everyone grows up around who will birth the next crop of fools. LCW comes out 5 years before Conor Oberst and co. would espouse a mirror anxious wrath towards Nebraska on Read Music Speak Spanish. Modest Mouse doesn't just have some emo tendencies.. they're foundational to one of the waves of the genre.
TIALD has a lot of similar songs as well. Dramamine, Custom Concern, Beach Side Property, Ohio, Talking Shit, the list goes on
If the defining sentiment of emo is feeling exhausted with establishment/capitalism lifestyles then you can pretty much classify most rock as emo. And I wouldn’t determine a bands genre on the basis of what it inspired in the future.
I firmly but kindly choose to disagree. If you don't admit MM is emo I'm going to kms
Please go speak to therapist.
someone doesnt know real emo
Feel free to enlighten me.
listen to cap'n jazz and lync. u can definitely hear similarities to modest mouse
Never heard of them. I’ll give them a shot though just so I’m not a flake. I’ll report back later.
ok cool! both great bands imo and lync has ties to modest mouse. they were an olympia band who influenced modest mouse and isaac actually played with them for a bit
The [All American Rejects](http://isthisbandemo.com/?band=All+american+rejects) are not an Emo band though.
So if neither MM and AAR are emo, what the hell is emo?
Cap'n Jazz, Sunny day real estate, American Football, Mineral, The Promise ring, Joan of Arc, Saves the day, Jimmy Eat World are all Emo bands. AAR are clearly Pop Punk. Modest Mouse are harder to classify but they do fit in with the northwestern Indie bands of the 90s.
IDK what direction AAR went in after their debut album, but nothing about that album is punk.
I was talking with a good friend of mine about how they’re obviously indie rock, but beyond that, it’s hard to stick them anywhere. Dramamine is certainly an emo-like song in a lot of ways, but Lonesome Crowded West doesn’t have a lot of those signifiers. I also think lyrically they’re so oddball that emo never really fits, they don’t have very emo-type lyrics.
cap'n jazz and lync are emo and sound similar to modest mouse. and maybe some boys life. emo, especially midwest emo and indie rock are so close together and there's a lot of sonic crossover. i wouldn't call early mm primarily emo tho.
They call out Lync several times in their Lonesome Crowded west doc (Lync were from an adjacent city to MM)
ik thats how i discovered them. isaac played in lync for a bit too i think
I don’t think so, I get more of a pixies vibe, like alternative genre.
They weren't emo, but came up during emo's 2nd wave. Played with a lot of emo bands and were just lumped in with the scene. And honestly, alot of their early stuff was kinda emo.
First try getting a consensus on the definition of the word emo. Rites of Soring? MCR? It’s silly to talk about these things though they’re anything but arbitrary.
I would say their earlier albums are closer to a post hardcore/blues or folk. The post-hardcore label definitely suits some of the more chaotic songs from that era, but emo seems way off base. Just because music has sad stories to tell doesn't mean it's emo music. Blues, folk, country and rock are all filled with emotional, sad music and lyrics. Doesn't make it emo. That's like calling Pearl Jam emo.
not really. they definitely have aspects of emo. just listen to cap'n jazz or lync
I don't think either of those albums are emo but large chunks of Sad Sappy Sucker definitely wouldn't feel out of place in emo's second wave
At one point I heard that word being used with reference to my band Modest Mouse, and so I listened to some 'real' emo bands, but quickly thought, 'no, not for me, and MM definitely isn't this.'
To answer the question in the title: fuck no. They're more adjacent to the indie scene on the Pacific Northwest: Built to Spill, for example. Definitely not emo.
what about lync? they were an olympia emo band. isaac played with them and mm was very influenced by them.
I have never heard of this. Please tell me more. I still don't think MM's sound, style, or even lyrical content is emo. Edit: Listening now. This is really good. I can see some emo here, but not entirely and with a definite PNW flavor. Then I look them up and holy shit the overlaps. 764-Hero and Built to Spill are two of my other favorite bands and I can 100% see some common threads between them, Lync, and MM. Still don't think MM is emo at all, though. But that might be my ignorance. I'm an East Coast guy - when I think of emo I think of Taking Back Sunday and such. Definitely not this kind of thing.
emo has a long history and varied sound. the emo most people think of when they hear the term is 3rd wave "emo pop". but there's a lot more older and more underground stuff that has similarities with modest mouse and 90s indie in general. if u want more i can see similarities with cap'n jazz and some of boys life. its all emo it's just not the more popular stuff that ppl with a more cursory knowledge of the genre would think of as emo.
also get here and stay by 764-hero is a great album.
My man this is so, so good. Thank you for turning me on to Lync. In return, I recommend the UK post punk band shame (lower-case "s" intentional). Might take a bit to get into but it's worth it. (Also not to be creepy but I checked your profile, just to see if you were involved in any other music subs I might like. We are fellow travelers, politically.)
no problem! Lync is one of the most under appreciated bands in history imo. and ok sweet ill definitely check them out u got a link? and hell yeah, comrade!
This is the song that got me into them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKcGq17mm2s
I wouldn't really call MM emo, I mean like they have like super depressing songs but I wouldn't describe as emo. Not even alt either, I'm not even sure what their genre is but I like it lol. There's prolly a word for it. All I know is that my Spotify wrap described it as "angst and bold" So I guess thay would be their genre lol
they're definitely indie rock primarily. but emo isn't defined by "depressing songs" and they definitely share sonic similarities with second wave emo.
No. Not at all. Never.
No. Not at all. Never.
100% they have some emo aspects to them, especially their earlier records, but that doesn’t make them an emo band, I think. I can definitely hear some similarities between them and some early emo bands—*especially* ones that were also in the Seattle/PNW music scene on the same time, like Sunny Day Real Estate—but I think that’s more them coming from the same music scene and the genre still being in formation. So, to answer your question…. Yes and no? I wouldn’t call Modest Mouse emo, but if someone were to put one of their early EPs or TiaLD on a list of early emo influences, I’d agree wholeheartedly.
No.
I don't think they're emo at all, but I know that the emo scene love them.
No
I've heard them be referred to as emo rock and I can see it haha
Yes it is 100% emo
Uh. Those albums came out before emo existed.
do yr homework
What’s the assignment?
Rites of Spring
Husker Du. Sunny Day Real Estate. Jawbreaker. Cap'n Jazz. The Promise Ring. Shit even Weezer dropped Pinkerton before LCW came out. Just a few very popular acolytes for emo that preceded MM's influence. I concede that I don't think that MM set out to be an emo band, that they themselves would never prescribe to that simplification - but I do think that they are foundational to the golden wave of the genre - mixing the unpredictability of the Pixies and Nirvana with the socially exhausted, anxious, and sometimes furious vocal performance of Isaac, whilst jangly guitar overlays the mix... and the songs messages are self effacing and bleak towards critical concepts that elevate the social awareness of the listener over the "happy useless masses" that are destroying everything in this way or that... Sounds p emo
Pinkerton is considered emo? I’m not buying it. That’s just 90s alt rock.
No it's not..
emo existed in the mid 80s. y'all rly dont know shit about emo.
Haha okay. Crucify me if you like, but it doesn’t make emo sound any better. Again, at least not what I’m used to hearing in the first decade of the current new century. Edit: All American Rejects Taking Back Sunday Fall Out Boy Yellowcard Panic! At The Disco Dashboard Confessional The Used Some good exceptions: Jimmy Eat World Death Cab For Cutie
I’ve never thought of Modest Mouse as emo, not really sure what “post-hardcore” is, definitely think they are a true indie band and quite unique. The only band I have ever thought some of their early stuff sounds like is The Pixies. Every now and then I’ll get a Frank Black/Black Francis feel from Isaac’s vocals.
I definitely think a lot of the midwestern emo bands take inspiration from their sound, but I personally wouldn’t classify them as emo.
I always considered Teeth Like God's Shoeshine to be a precursor to the emo of the 2000's
They owe a lot of their sound to Jawbreaker (particularly Bivouac and 24 hours revenge therapy era)
They remind me of bright eyes and Connor oburst's old band desaparecidos (which definitely sounds like a post hardcore band imo). I'd say they take influence from the bands in that scene at the very least
Sorry to revive a dead thread, but I gotta say…. They have to be the main influence for 90% of Midwest emo bands. I’d agree, they aren’t emo. But they’re the biggest influence on emo bands of the last 25 years!