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Listen, it’s no secret that here at The Alternative, we love emo music. We’re also strong proponents of the album form, and every great album begins with a great opener.

The staff put their heads together and duked it out to come up with a list of the 20 best album-opening tracks in emo history. The list, spanning nearly thirty years, covers nearly every era and nearly every corner of the genre.

Check out our staff’s picks through the link in our bio 🔗

Who did we miss? Leave your pick in the comments

#getalternative #emo

It’s 2026, and that means another year of new music is headed our way. With ICE and Trump abusing and murdering people across the country, 2026 isn’t off to a great start. But there are a couple things we can rejoice in: the courage and love of ordinary people all over the world standing up for their neighbors, and the promise of some excellent new tunes 🎶

Check out the full list to see our staff’s most anticipated releases of 2026, along with some photos of these artists taken by our staff over the years. (Man, we’ve been at this a long time, but I guess that’s all the more reason you should trust our recs! 😏 )

And if you want to see us continuing to talk about amazing art and music, consider supporting us by becoming a Pateron subscriber (which also allows you to receive extra content and some pretty sweet perks) OR signing up for our newsletter to stay up to date on all our best new stuff (its also freeeee)

Whatever you do, we are incredibly thankful and cant wait to see what sick music, art, and community is in store for 2026 ✨

#GetAlternative #FUCKICE #FUCKTRUMP

List season again, baby! 👶 Our 50 favorite albums of 2025 run the gamut: trip-hop to indie folk, emo-pop to alt-country, shoegaze to math rock. Thanks for sticking with The Alternative for another year. In the age of AI, pay-for-play, and click-chasing, you could be reading anyone’s year-end list right now, but you’re reading ours. 💗

Check out who the winners are in the categories below ⬇️

Best Debut
@prettyrudeband - 'Ripe'
@mei_semones - 'Animaru' 🏆
@crushedworldwide - 'no scope'
@addisonraee - 'Addison'
@blueearthsound - 'Cicero Nights'
Los Thuthanaka - Self Titled

Most Underrated
@deathbois - 'Die In Love'
@c_linmiller - 'Losin' 🏆
@horsegirlmusic - 'Phonetics On and On'
@hachikumusic - 'The Joys of Being Pure at Heart'
@thecautionchildren - 'Appropriate Music'
@blondemaze - 'Second Sight'

Best Non-LP
@pinkpantheress - 'Fancy That Mixtape'
@mspaintband - 'No Separation' EP 🏆
@dazysound - 'Bad Penny' EP
@spanishlovesongs - 'A Brief Intermission in the Flattening of Time' EP
@goldsoundz_ - 'God's Favourite' EP
@brighteyesofficial - 'Kids Table' EP

Album of the Year
@geesebandnyc - 'Getting Killed'
@wednesday_gurl - 'Bleeds'
@movmou - 'Pruning of the Lower Limbs'
@poolkidsband - 'Easier Said Than Done'
@oldgraig - 'Burnover'
@liquidmikeband - 'Hell is an Airport' 🏆

Again, thank you to everyone who has supported #TheAlt this year! If you want to help us continue the work of highlighting amazing music, please consider joining our Patreon, purchasing merch from our Bandcamp, or making a donation via PayPal. We appreciate your support regardless and hope you continue to like, share, and follow us into the new year!

To check out the other bands who made it onto our #Top50, click the link in our bio 🔗

🎨: @x_loanp

#GetAlternative #AOTY #DIY

List season again, baby! 👶 Our 50 favorite albums of 2025 run the gamut: trip-hop to indie folk, emo-pop to alt-country, shoegaze to math rock. Thanks for sticking with The Alternative for another year. In the age of AI, pay-for-play, and click-chasing, you could be reading anyone’s year-end list right now, but you’re reading ours. 💗

Check out who the winners are in the categories below ⬇️

Best Debut
@prettyrudeband - 'Ripe'
@mei_semones - 'Animaru' 🏆
@crushedworldwide - 'no scope'
@addisonraee - 'Addison'
@blueearthsound - 'Cicero Nights'
Los Thuthanaka - Self Titled

Most Underrated
@deathbois - 'Die In Love'
@c_linmiller - 'Losin' 🏆
@horsegirlmusic - 'Phonetics On and On'
@hachikumusic - 'The Joys of Being Pure at Heart'
@thecautionchildren - 'Appropriate Music'
@blondemaze - 'Second Sight'

Best Non-LP
@pinkpantheress - 'Fancy That Mixtape'
@mspaintband - 'No Separation' EP 🏆
@dazysound - 'Bad Penny' EP
@spanishlovesongs - 'A Brief Intermission in the Flattening of Time' EP
@goldsoundz_ - 'God's Favourite' EP
@brighteyesofficial - 'Kids Table' EP

Album of the Year
@geesebandnyc - 'Getting Killed'
@wednesday_gurl - 'Bleeds'
@movmou - 'Pruning of the Lower Limbs'
@poolkidsband - 'Easier Said Than Done'
@oldgraig - 'Burnover'
@liquidmikeband - 'Hell is an Airport' 🏆

Again, thank you to everyone who has supported #TheAlt this year! If you want to help us continue the work of highlighting amazing music, please consider joining our Patreon, purchasing merch from our Bandcamp, or making a donation via PayPal. We appreciate your support regardless and hope you continue to like, share, and follow us into the new year!

To check out the other bands who made it onto our #Top50, click the link in our bio 🔗

🎨: @x_loanp

#GetAlternative #AOTY #DIY

List season again, baby! 👶 Our 50 favorite albums of 2025 run the gamut: trip-hop to indie folk, emo-pop to alt-country, shoegaze to math rock. Thanks for sticking with The Alternative for another year. In the age of AI, pay-for-play, and click-chasing, you could be reading anyone’s year-end list right now, but you’re reading ours. 💗

Check out who the winners are in the categories below ⬇️

Best Debut
@prettyrudeband - 'Ripe'
@mei_semones - 'Animaru' 🏆
@crushedworldwide - 'no scope'
@addisonraee - 'Addison'
@blueearthsound - 'Cicero Nights'
Los Thuthanaka - Self Titled

Most Underrated
@deathbois - 'Die In Love'
@c_linmiller - 'Losin' 🏆
@horsegirlmusic - 'Phonetics On and On'
@hachikumusic - 'The Joys of Being Pure at Heart'
@thecautionchildren - 'Appropriate Music'
@blondemaze - 'Second Sight'

Best Non-LP
@pinkpantheress - 'Fancy That Mixtape'
@mspaintband - 'No Separation' EP 🏆
@dazysound - 'Bad Penny' EP
@spanishlovesongs - 'A Brief Intermission in the Flattening of Time' EP
@goldsoundz_ - 'God's Favourite' EP
@brighteyesofficial - 'Kids Table' EP

Album of the Year
@geesebandnyc - 'Getting Killed'
@wednesday_gurl - 'Bleeds'
@movmou - 'Pruning of the Lower Limbs'
@poolkidsband - 'Easier Said Than Done'
@oldgraig - 'Burnover'
@liquidmikeband - 'Hell is an Airport' 🏆

Again, thank you to everyone who has supported #TheAlt this year! If you want to help us continue the work of highlighting amazing music, please consider joining our Patreon, purchasing merch from our Bandcamp, or making a donation via PayPal. We appreciate your support regardless and hope you continue to like, share, and follow us into the new year!

To check out the other bands who made it onto our #Top50, click the link in our bio 🔗

🎨: @x_loanp

#GetAlternative #AOTY #DIY

List season again, baby! 👶 Our 50 favorite albums of 2025 run the gamut: trip-hop to indie folk, emo-pop to alt-country, shoegaze to math rock. Thanks for sticking with The Alternative for another year. In the age of AI, pay-for-play, and click-chasing, you could be reading anyone’s year-end list right now, but you’re reading ours. 💗

Check out who the winners are in the categories below ⬇️

Best Debut
@prettyrudeband - 'Ripe'
@mei_semones - 'Animaru' 🏆
@crushedworldwide - 'no scope'
@addisonraee - 'Addison'
@blueearthsound - 'Cicero Nights'
Los Thuthanaka - Self Titled

Most Underrated
@deathbois - 'Die In Love'
@c_linmiller - 'Losin' 🏆
@horsegirlmusic - 'Phonetics On and On'
@hachikumusic - 'The Joys of Being Pure at Heart'
@thecautionchildren - 'Appropriate Music'
@blondemaze - 'Second Sight'

Best Non-LP
@pinkpantheress - 'Fancy That Mixtape'
@mspaintband - 'No Separation' EP 🏆
@dazysound - 'Bad Penny' EP
@spanishlovesongs - 'A Brief Intermission in the Flattening of Time' EP
@goldsoundz_ - 'God's Favourite' EP
@brighteyesofficial - 'Kids Table' EP

Album of the Year
@geesebandnyc - 'Getting Killed'
@wednesday_gurl - 'Bleeds'
@movmou - 'Pruning of the Lower Limbs'
@poolkidsband - 'Easier Said Than Done'
@oldgraig - 'Burnover'
@liquidmikeband - 'Hell is an Airport' 🏆

Again, thank you to everyone who has supported #TheAlt this year! If you want to help us continue the work of highlighting amazing music, please consider joining our Patreon, purchasing merch from our Bandcamp, or making a donation via PayPal. We appreciate your support regardless and hope you continue to like, share, and follow us into the new year!

To check out the other bands who made it onto our #Top50, click the link in our bio 🔗

🎨: @x_loanp

#GetAlternative #AOTY #DIY

List season again, baby! 👶 Our 50 favorite albums of 2025 run the gamut: trip-hop to indie folk, emo-pop to alt-country, shoegaze to math rock. Thanks for sticking with The Alternative for another year. In the age of AI, pay-for-play, and click-chasing, you could be reading anyone’s year-end list right now, but you’re reading ours. 💗

Check out who the winners are in the categories below ⬇️

Best Debut
@prettyrudeband - 'Ripe'
@mei_semones - 'Animaru' 🏆
@crushedworldwide - 'no scope'
@addisonraee - 'Addison'
@blueearthsound - 'Cicero Nights'
Los Thuthanaka - Self Titled

Most Underrated
@deathbois - 'Die In Love'
@c_linmiller - 'Losin' 🏆
@horsegirlmusic - 'Phonetics On and On'
@hachikumusic - 'The Joys of Being Pure at Heart'
@thecautionchildren - 'Appropriate Music'
@blondemaze - 'Second Sight'

Best Non-LP
@pinkpantheress - 'Fancy That Mixtape'
@mspaintband - 'No Separation' EP 🏆
@dazysound - 'Bad Penny' EP
@spanishlovesongs - 'A Brief Intermission in the Flattening of Time' EP
@goldsoundz_ - 'God's Favourite' EP
@brighteyesofficial - 'Kids Table' EP

Album of the Year
@geesebandnyc - 'Getting Killed'
@wednesday_gurl - 'Bleeds'
@movmou - 'Pruning of the Lower Limbs'
@poolkidsband - 'Easier Said Than Done'
@oldgraig - 'Burnover'
@liquidmikeband - 'Hell is an Airport' 🏆

Again, thank you to everyone who has supported #TheAlt this year! If you want to help us continue the work of highlighting amazing music, please consider joining our Patreon, purchasing merch from our Bandcamp, or making a donation via PayPal. We appreciate your support regardless and hope you continue to like, share, and follow us into the new year!

To check out the other bands who made it onto our #Top50, click the link in our bio 🔗

🎨: @x_loanp

#GetAlternative #AOTY #DIY

This week it’s an All Presidents Eve on 10/10 You’re Great as we dig into the backlog and uncover The Sidekicks most eagle-adjacent record, Awkward Breeds

This week it’s an All Presidents Eve on 10/10 You’re Great as we dig into the backlog and uncover The Sidekicks most eagle-adjacent record, Awkward Breeds

@lipcritic is no stranger to tales of absurdity—describing freaks that don’t exist, having an entire arsenal of songs about a creature with a disgustingly long tongue and a corrupt, money-hungry preacher.

While touring their debut album 'Hex Dealer' in 2024, lead singer Bret Kaser’s identity was stolen by none other than a fan. This fan confronted Kaser on tour to inform him that he had picked up the breadcrumbs the band had been leaving in their music to solve the ultimate multidimensional puzzle. Rather than turning him into the authorities, the band took the scammer to a halal shop and recorded the ramblings of the world’s most normal Lip Critic listener, eventually leading the group to scrap their planned album and create 'Theft World.'

Check out the full album that elevates strangeness to an entirely different level and our full review through the link in our bio 🔗

'Theft World' Out Now

✍️: @jules.klly

#GetAlternative #AlbumReview #LipCritic #NewAlbum

Cleveland’s @dogsrunfree have returned with a new single “Sick,” and it’s a cheeky track that channels mid-2000s indie sleaze while the stripped-down DIY video sits in stark contrast to the song’s gritty maximalist sound.

Check out the full video premiere through the link in our bio 🔗

#premiere #punk #indiesleaze #cleveland #dogsrunfree

This week on 10/10 You’re Great we go back to the Cure’s Pornography for a sad spring fling. Also do not google “cure pornography” you will be sent to some truly strange reddits.

This week on 10/10 You’re Great we go back to the Cure’s Pornography for a sad spring fling. Also do not google “cure pornography” you will be sent to some truly strange reddits.

@graceives4u comes out fresh and better than ever with her sophomore album 'Girlfriend.'

Her last album 'Janky Star' having dropped in 2022, Ives shows who she really is for the first time. A notable collaborator on this project was @johndebold, who worked closely with HAIM on their grammy nominated record 'Women in Music Pt. II.'

Ives released four great singles off of this project, “Avalanche,” “Dance With Me,” “My Mans,” and “Stupid Bitches,” the latter especially being a fan favorite.

Check out our review of the album through the link in our bio 🔗

✍️: @conoroberstlvr

'Girlfriend' is out now

#GetAlternative #AlbumReview #GraceIves #girlfriend

This weekly roundup features our new favorite songs from Turnover, above me, she’s green, fingerswoventogether, and In 2 Again. Link in bio to listen 🎶

#weeklyroundup #shoegaze #screamo #posthardcore

This weekly roundup features our new favorite songs from Turnover, above me, she’s green, fingerswoventogether, and In 2 Again. Link in bio to listen 🎶

#weeklyroundup #shoegaze #screamo #posthardcore

This weekly roundup features our new favorite songs from Turnover, above me, she’s green, fingerswoventogether, and In 2 Again. Link in bio to listen 🎶

#weeklyroundup #shoegaze #screamo #posthardcore

This weekly roundup features our new favorite songs from Turnover, above me, she’s green, fingerswoventogether, and In 2 Again. Link in bio to listen 🎶

#weeklyroundup #shoegaze #screamo #posthardcore

This weekly roundup features our new favorite songs from Turnover, above me, she’s green, fingerswoventogether, and In 2 Again. Link in bio to listen 🎶

#weeklyroundup #shoegaze #screamo #posthardcore

Had the pleasure of finally getting to photograph @sleepingwithsirens last night at @marathonmusicworks, one of my first favorite bands back in 2011/2012 and their first live show in a year. Taken for @getalternative

Had the pleasure of finally getting to photograph @sleepingwithsirens last night at @marathonmusicworks, one of my first favorite bands back in 2011/2012 and their first live show in a year. Taken for @getalternative

Had the pleasure of finally getting to photograph @sleepingwithsirens last night at @marathonmusicworks, one of my first favorite bands back in 2011/2012 and their first live show in a year. Taken for @getalternative

Had the pleasure of finally getting to photograph @sleepingwithsirens last night at @marathonmusicworks, one of my first favorite bands back in 2011/2012 and their first live show in a year. Taken for @getalternative

Had the pleasure of finally getting to photograph @sleepingwithsirens last night at @marathonmusicworks, one of my first favorite bands back in 2011/2012 and their first live show in a year. Taken for @getalternative

Had the pleasure of finally getting to photograph @sleepingwithsirens last night at @marathonmusicworks, one of my first favorite bands back in 2011/2012 and their first live show in a year. Taken for @getalternative

Had the pleasure of finally getting to photograph @sleepingwithsirens last night at @marathonmusicworks, one of my first favorite bands back in 2011/2012 and their first live show in a year. Taken for @getalternative

Had the pleasure of finally getting to photograph @sleepingwithsirens last night at @marathonmusicworks, one of my first favorite bands back in 2011/2012 and their first live show in a year. Taken for @getalternative

Had the pleasure of finally getting to photograph @sleepingwithsirens last night at @marathonmusicworks, one of my first favorite bands back in 2011/2012 and their first live show in a year. Taken for @getalternative

Had the pleasure of finally getting to photograph @sleepingwithsirens last night at @marathonmusicworks, one of my first favorite bands back in 2011/2012 and their first live show in a year. Taken for @getalternative

Some 1x1s from julie’s Milwaukee set last month.

📸 4.25.26 for @getalternative

Some 1x1s from julie’s Milwaukee set last month.

📸 4.25.26 for @getalternative

Some 1x1s from julie’s Milwaukee set last month.

📸 4.25.26 for @getalternative

Some 1x1s from julie’s Milwaukee set last month.

📸 4.25.26 for @getalternative

Some 1x1s from julie’s Milwaukee set last month.

📸 4.25.26 for @getalternative

Some 1x1s from julie’s Milwaukee set last month.

📸 4.25.26 for @getalternative

Some 1x1s from julie’s Milwaukee set last month.

📸 4.25.26 for @getalternative

Some 1x1s from julie’s Milwaukee set last month.

📸 4.25.26 for @getalternative

Some 1x1s from julie’s Milwaukee set last month.

📸 4.25.26 for @getalternative

Some 1x1s from julie’s Milwaukee set last month.

📸 4.25.26 for @getalternative

Some 1x1s from julie’s Milwaukee set last month.

📸 4.25.26 for @getalternative

Some 1x1s from julie’s Milwaukee set last month.

📸 4.25.26 for @getalternative

Some 1x1s from julie’s Milwaukee set last month.

📸 4.25.26 for @getalternative

Some 1x1s from julie’s Milwaukee set last month.

📸 4.25.26 for @getalternative

Some 1x1s from julie’s Milwaukee set last month.

📸 4.25.26 for @getalternative

In the two years since @houseswedieintx began, they’ve experimented with nearly every form of hardcore-derived music. On their latest release, 'A Brief Glimpse of Solace,' they settled into a muscular, dynamic style of metalcore influenced by mid-2000s titans like @underoathband and @poisonthewell. It’s a sound that’s gotten big lately, but Houses We Die In keep it interesting enough to stand out among their peers, and 'A Brief Glimpse of Solace' is their strongest work yet.

We recently caught up with the band to discuss their formation, the new EP, and their favorite tour snacks. You can check out the full interview through the link in our bio 🔗

✍️: @gr8whitebison

'A Brief Glimpse of Solace' is out now via @paperwingsrecords

#GetAlternative #ArtistInterview #HouseWeDieIn #NewAlbum