Coping

Coping captures what makes the emo revival feel so special all these years later. It seemed as if a bunch of people unintentionally tapped into twinkly pop punk simultaneously. You get that same feeling of discovery when you put on Lawndale Cassette for the first time. There’s a palpable energy that comes across when I stream the songs through Bandcamp, trying to reach out to you. It's exuberant and youthful, as all great upbeat emo music should be. The only real knock against Coping’s first release is that it sometimes feels a bit too indebted to its influences to sound like its own thing.

By the time Coping released Nope, their only full length, they’ve settled into an identity, which is apparent with the 1–2 punch of Somewhere in Skokie into B(my favorite song). It still has those elliptical guitar runs that Joe Reinhart popularized, but the songwriting is on another level here. There are genuine hooks on here, helped by a more robust recording. The dual vocals make the songs pop, adding another layer of desperation. And in true emo fashion, this would be the last thing Coping ever released, leaving fans with a short discography to pour over.

Lawndale Cassette

1. Left Ear

2. Croquet

3. '95 Mariners

4. Mixed Horror Stories

5. Robert Pershing Wadlow

6. Seniors

Coping/The Clippers Split

1. Stoopin'

2. F For Now

NOPE

1. Somehwere in Skokie

2. B

3. Everything No Problem

4. Where A.T. At?

5. Teach Me How To Fish

6. Ro' Money Ro' Problems

7. Love Tigress

8. Knuckle Puck

9. #72 East

10. Double Perfect

The Hertzsprung Gap

There’s very little information on The Hertzsprung Gap except for a write-up on a YouTube video. I couldn’t even find one of their releases anywhere online. But from what I can tell, the band comes out of the ashes of Sweep The Leg Johnny and Punjab. It fits within the realm of 90s emo, playing alongside bands like The Sky Corvair and Karate. There are a lot of the quiet-loud dynamics that would typify emo’s second wave. I also hear many constituent parts of what will become twinkly emo in the 2000s.

 

The Hertzsprung Gap

1. Standish

2. Blindness! (On The Brink Of Sight)

Polyp

1. Polyp

2. Peninsulas You Thought Were Islands

Peninsulas You Thought Were Islands

1. Texas Hotel Parking Lot

2. Outrun The Sun

3. Strut Like Your Stories Strut

4. Chevy Chase Vs. Dundee

5. The Island Of Alaska

6. Can't Touch This

7. Put Your City In Neutral

Churchkey

Churchkey was an emo band from 2013-2016. Their early material reminded me of the best parts of Glocca Morra. "A Great Big Bowl of MD 20/20" may be the biggest culprit, sounding like a facsimile of "Professional Confessional." Basically, this was emo that was meant for basements, carrying a certain drunk punk panache. But to relegate Churchkey to worship status isn't quite right. By the time Churchkey released their only record, they had settled into their own defined sound. Unfortunately, like so many other emo bands, this would mark the end, moving onto the next stage of their lives. Singer Corey Wichlin would eventually find himself in the orbit of Zack Schwartz, currently serving as the drummer for Spirit of The Beehive.