90s Midwest Emo

Before Midwest emo had a name, there was Squirrel Bait. Louisville, Kentucky, 1983. A group of teenagers started playing what would later be called "early Midwestern emotional hardcore"—fast, angular, but shot through with something more vulnerable than D.C. hardcore's template. That same year, Honor Role formed in Indiana, laying groundwork for what would eventually coalesce in Chicago. By 1987, Articles of Faith's posthumous In This Life became Chicago's first emo record—introspective lyrics and indie rock textures over a conventional hardcore base. Louisville's Slint followed, creating experimental music that Spin would describe as "King Crimson gone emo," fusing math rock's complexity with emotional weight. These were the scattered sparks. Bands happening too early, too far from the coasts, playing music that wouldn't have a proper vocabulary for years.