By: Nina Bertuca
CHICAGO– “It’s not a phase, Mom,” was the phrase that colored every emo kid’s teen years. In 2025, many of the quintessential emo revival albums are hitting their ten year anniversary, leaving emo fans everywhere to wonder, is the genre passé? Are we past emo prime?
On June 9, 2025, Canadian emo band Arm’s Length provided otherwise, playing to a sold-out crowd at Bottom Lounge, the first of five album release shows for There’s a Whole World Out There. Even though the show was on a Monday night, the fans were dedicated, most arriving before the first set of the night.
The show opened with Brooklyn-based newcomers wakelee. This was the first Chicago performance for the independent band, but they performed to a receptive crowd, with many audience members leaving the floor to check out the wakelee merch spread post-set. Stand-out songs included tracks like “Criminal,” which features a trombone solo, and the band’s newest single, “Field Goal.” The band cites influences like Death Cab for Cutie, Joyce Manor, and Bloc Party.
Next on the bill was Marquette, Michigan’s Charmer. The band noted that they have now been playing together for ten years, like many of the emo revival bands mentioned before. Their 2018 debut release helped the band to garner a following early on, as their track “Bummer Summer” gained notoriety from midwest emo listeners. The band incited moshing and crowdsurfing by telling the audience that whoever came over the barricade the most times during the set could get a free merch item post show, causing the crowd to pick up the energy. While their older music is akin to twinkly midwest emo bands like American Football and Tigers Jaw, their new album Downpour is a bit more punchy and guitar heavy, fitting in stylistically with bands like Anxious and Heart to Gold.
Headliner Arm’s Length has seen a meteoric rise since their first Chicago performance in 2021, now touting Chicago as their top listener base on Spotify. It is almost hard to tell when the band had time to record and write their new album, having played Chicago four times in the last 18 months, supporting bands like Thursday and Origami Angel and headlining Do Division Festival in West Town last summer. Though the new album was released a few short weeks prior, fans recited every word to the new songs, with vocalist Allen Steinberg often turning the microphone around to let the crowd take it away.
Arm’s Length, Charmer, and wakelee all represent different iterations of the emo scene, and their continued success serves as a reminder that emo music is not just for Hot Topic teens in black skinny jeans and hair in their eyes. Emo, from its roots in Washington D.C. hardcore to its newer, more experimental counterparts today, continues to speak to a myriad of listeners who find catharsis in loud, emotionally-charged rock music.
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//Photos by Larissa Kaye/ Out of the Dark Photography