Emo kid

I can't tell if Citizen and Joyce Manor have truly put out the best albums of 2026, or if it's just that my music taste hasn't changed since high school. I actually think I discovered Citizen through Tumblr, or at least, I remember blogging while listening to Everybody is Going To Heaven. Either way, Halcyon Blues delivers banger after banger while also leaving the listener to ask "Is Mat Kerekes okay?"

Honestly, I was kinda neutral on the singles, until Good Fortune was released. That's when I knew Citizen was so back. Which, as Good Fortune turns into I Can See You From Here, I can't believe I doubted them for a second. This song is classic Citizen in the way that it is so dynamic.

I had to look up what halcyon meant. It means characterized by happiness, success, and prosperity, or a calm and peaceful time. It also references a kingfisher bird in mythology.

Taking the first definition and the lyrics to the album's title track, this is really what makes me ask if Mat is okay. I'm not active enough in the MKU discord to know. The lyrics to this song are so incredibly emo and I love it, even if it is one of the more lowkey tracks on the record.

Is It In My Brain? is a standout, up there with Matador for my favorites on the record. It was here that I almost had to turn the record off because I was driving and I was distracted by how intently I was listening to it.

There's something different about Always the Last One to Leave. I still don't completely know how I feel about the song. Same goes for either way. I think both songs are good, they are just in an awkward spot on the record where they are in the middle and between Is It In My Brain and Matador, which as I said, are my two favorite songs. Either Way benefits though from again some incredibly emo lyrics.

I really hope they play Matador live. I think the venue would explode. They already perform with so much energy and that song is nuts. I can picture it in my head. I almost wish they had shortened this song and made it more of a hardcore song, rather than having the slower parts in.

Either Way and Ether are kinda the same song to me. It's not bad, but Ether is probably going to be the track I forget about.

I like Smooth Talker, but I think not as much as some of the people in the instagram comments. It's almost too formulaic of a Citizen song. Which it's good, I love Citizen, but it maybe doesn't stand out to me the way that it seems to be for others.

I liked Highs and Lows when it came out, but I think it surprised me how much I loved it in the context of the album.

I think they could have slowed down Anne even more. It's another slow/midtempo song that can get lost if you aren't listening to the lyrics. I think slowing it down would have made it stand out even more as the conclusion to record.

I like math rock. The problem is I like vocals in my math rock, and when you go to the Spotify "This is math rock" or whatever it's called, most of the songs there do not have vocals (except that is how I discovered Delta Sleep, my beloved).

Speaking of Delta Sleep, I was really disappointed when Computer dropped off the Delta Sleep tour and was replaced with Combat. I like Combat too, but I thought Computer was a better fit. I saw Computer at the Counter Intuitive Records holiday show and thoroughly enjoyed their set.

Computer has mostly put out singles and one EP. Creature is their first full length record.

I discovered in researching for this post that their website is a fun little treat. I recommend checking out https://computerband.com/pages/home.

Their website specifically calls out that they're inspired by early 2000s Japanese math rock, which is not a scene I know anything about, as well as punk and emo. I do notice though that Creature leans into emo-revival. Idk maybe I've just been listening to a lot of emo revival lately (Sisyphus by Citrus Jr, my beloved).

It's harder to review a whole album than an EP. I can listen to an EP a couple times through in the time it takes me to write a post and go through song by song. That gets a little harder in a full length album. This is going to be my first reaction, but I plan on spending more time with this album, especially for the next time they come through Boston (whenever that is).

I was about to say I think Lost Confidence is the standout song on the album to me, but then I got to Memories. Between the twinkly intro and the borderline spoken word bridge, this song is gonna be insane live.

I can't figure out what song Take Back reminds me of, but I enjoy it.

Fix is a song where I spent most of it thinking "okay this is the same as every other song on this record" but then really enjoyed the way the song ended.

I'm not convinced that the songs on this record particularly stand out from one another, but they're good songs.

As I'm searching for Tiny Voices on Spotify to add to this post, I wonder if the band's name is a Box Car Racer reference. That album came out in 2002, wow. Anyway.

In general, I like Tiny Voices, but I do think they sound kinda like every emo band. We get it, you like Free Throw. Ironically, the Boston date of their last tour was the same night as Free Throw. I went to Free Throw, sorry.

On first listen, I might truly have nothing to say about this EP. Oof. I don't think it's bad, it's just not interesting to me. I promise I like this type of music, I grew up on pop punk and fourth-wave emo and clearly Tiny Voices did too. Maybe it goes back to what I was saying before, every band is trying to be Hot Mulligan.

Losing color is a really fucking emo song, lyrically, and I respect that. To the point where I wonder if I'm not sad enough anymore to get it.

I think oh boy! 3am! is my favorite song on the EP. This and the last song on the record feel particularly pop punk. I do feel like they really like the word "complacent." But I also think that resonates with me.

I'm gonna be honest, I do not have the attention span to read the song title. (how can i) take it one step at a time when everything is happening at once? I think you can shorten that one, guys. That being said, I do think this song is a fun pop punk/emo hybrid. Another standout on the record, even though I said the whole thing is forgettable.

I went into Mallcops's set not giving them a fair chance. I was at Nice, a Fest in Boston. It had been a long day, and it was their 45 minute set standing between me and Somos, a band I know and love. As their set went on, I warmed up to them more and more, eventually deciding that I really liked their songwriting. I didn't think I was going to go home and listen to them though. But I was getting into my car the next day with Peach Tree stuck in my head. Okay, I'll listen to that song again. And then the next day I was looking for something to listen to, and new thing I knew, I had this EP on repeat.

On Saturday, July 25th, 2026 Mallcops released an EP titled 35mm Memories. The first song, Make You Smile, rocks. It's got a fun little edge to it that I appreciate. It's not a song that is going to stick with me, per se, but I think it's good.

The title track has a great chorus. I want more of that chorus. I do want to note though it's Somerville, Massachusetts and I don't believe you can afford somewhere with a lawn.

Like I said, Peach Tree was the song that made me want to listen to Mallcops. It was the song that stuck out to me the whole show. It's fun and sweet, with a nice "swing" to it. I think I'm about to listen to it in my car every morning this week.

Doggy Bag also has a fun edge to it. This is a song that's going to keep me coming back to this record, instead of just having Peach Tree on repeat.

Wooly Mammoth is my least favorite song on the EP. It's kinda slow and not fun or catchy in the way the other songs are. Well I shouldn't say it's not fun. Singing about Wooly Mammoths is a fun topic. But still.

Feel So Cool was really good live and also stuck out to me during their performance. I think it wraps up the record well.

My friend was complaining recently that he thinks a lot of emo these days is too unserious. And honestly, I agree. I know ridiculous song titles have always been a thing, but I am going to set a curse on Hot Mulligan. I would be fine if I never heard another song featuring Tades. Why is he always there? That being said, I do think Another Round of Radical Ritas is the best song on the EP.

Two Bucks is pretty good. Tbh, I don't really know if Eric adds anything to the song, as much as I love Hammy.

Backseat Bartender is another song with an unserious name. And again, I'm not convinced Gabe Wood adds anything to the song. It's not bad, but I'm going to forget about it.

I'm not going to talk shit about 73 Summers, but it's a sad song that I don't relate to. Sorry.

I really like Roll for Initiative, but I'm not into D&D and I hate being left out of things, so I don't like the title. Again, get serious. It's a strong start to the EP though.