Posted: by The Alt Editing Staff
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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. Scroll down and see what we picked.
20. Rainer Maria– “Tinfoil”
Press play on Past Worn Searching and you’re greeted by two voices screaming, “goddamnit.” For the next five minutes, both those voices—Caithlin de Marrais’s and Kaia Fischer’s—will compete with one another for space as jagged riffs unwind and William Kuehn treats his drum kit like a punching bag. It’s a chaotic introduction to one of the most underrated LPs of the era, but it’s a hell of a first impression. – Zac Djamoos
19. The Anniversary – “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter”
After a perfectly placed “woo,” a scorching cacophony ensues. Sure, other emo bands around this time utilized synthesizers—The Get Up Kids before, Motion City Soundtrack after—but squarely at the turn of the millennium The Anniversary gave us a gleefully maximalist debut record that was so perfectly executed they had no choice but to change everything on their next one. Peppered by those synthesizers, their hallmark mix of male/female and gang vocals are on full display on “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter.” There is complexity to the arrangements, but there is much melody to be found. Sure, the muddied mix makes it somewhat difficult to parse when the band goes full bore, but hey, it wouldn’t be a proper emo record otherwise! – Chris Favata
18. Texas Is the Reason– “Johnny on the Spot”
For a band who only put out one full-length album, “Johnny on the Spot” still feels full of possibility. Texas Is the Reason may have been fraught with internal issues that led to a rather quick disbandment after the release of their debut album Do You Know Who You Are?, but they succeeded in making something that stood the test of time and essentially helped define ‘90s emo. The punchy drum intro and pulsing melodies are energetic as they seem to walk a tightrope between indie sensibilities and the vitality of hardcore while creating something more sentimental than either genre on their own. There’s a particular emphasis on slowing down throughout the song, and the final verse—“Everybody tells me something / Something different every time / I’ll make up my own mind / Just let me sit here for awhile”—stirs up longing for an era that still allowed you to take your sweet time. – Loan Pham
17. Algernon Cadwallader – “Springing Leaks”
While the bouncy bass and noodly guitar riff that opens Algernon’s second album serve as a perfect reminder of their debut, it becomes clear that the band’s musical chemistry is taken to another level on “Springing Leaks.” The band keeps it loose and jams out for a solid three minutes after Pete Helmis shouts the last of his lines, playful as ever—some choice quotes here: “I’m not hugging you no more” and “A diamond in the rough polished up to be an immaculate piece of shit”—both providing a perfect encapsulation of everything that made this band special. Wait, we can say makes again! – Chris Favata
16. Jimmy Eat World – “Table for Glasses”
Clarity was, of course, Jimmy Eat World’s bold swing-for-the-fences album, so it only makes sense it begins with a song like “Table for Glasses”—probably the softest, slowest song on the record. A serious departure from the raw and explosive sound of Static Prevails, “Table for Glasses” perfectly sets up the more patient and stately version of Jimmy Eat World on display throughout the rest of Clarity. – Zac Djamoos
15. Prince Daddy & the Hyena – “I Thought You Didn’t Even Like Leaving”
An amazing opener on a debut album from Capital Region New Yorkers Prince Daddy & the Hyena. The title track to I Thought You Didn’t Even Like Leaving showcases exactly what this band is all about: abrasive vocals with some killer guitar riffs and pushing the envelope just enough with the drums and bass. The lyrics invoke some classic emo themes of friends exiting their life and the thought of leaving too. Every Prince Daddy show I’ve been to has every fan howling these lyrics back at the band and moshing along. A fantastic opener that sets their thematic and sonic elements in stone. – Sarah Knoll
14. Origami Angel – “Welcome To…”
It’s hard to remember now, but at one point Origami Angel made soft and gentle math-influenced emo music. It was their Gen 3 EP in early 2019 that saw them shifting toward their technical pop-punk sound, and it was on Somewhere City that they became the band we know and love today. Opener “Welcome To…” introduces the album perfectly, beginning with a sweet, pretty arpeggiated riff before exploding upward. Lyrically, “Welcome To…” is an excellent mission statement, setting up Somewhere City’s themes and, of course, foreshadowing where Origami Angel will go in the second half of closer “The Air Up Here.” – Zac Djamoos
13. Anxious – “Your One Way Street”
For a debut record, Little Green House truly opened with a banger. Anxious are one of the bands paying homage to the OG emo sound with beautiful harmonies and some screamed vocals peaking through at times. The guitar sound on “Your One Way Street” is classic emo and takes influence from some of the best of the genre. Underneath all of this are some banging drums and a solid bass line that anchors the track. It’s an incredible opener and sets the tone for an even better album. – Sarah Knoll
12. Modern Baseball – “Fine, Great”
The opener to what I deem to be Modern Baseball’s best record directly and succinctly grounds the record in its college setting. Much like its predecessor Sports, the grievances that Bren Lukens and Jake Ewald air out throughout You’re Gonna Miss It All really only exist in the context of college. “Fine, Great” sees Lukens rambling diaristically, but coherently: “You’re wasting / all of my time / to vent about your problems like how your Instagram stopped working / and how your friends bailed on you / but it was funny ‘cause it was the day you were supposed to hang with me,” he recounts. Lukens panics in ways on this song, and the record, at large in a way that really only he and his DIY contemporaries can pull off. – Leah Weinstein
11. Oso Oso – “The Cool”
The intro to Jade Lilitri’s loosely conceptual, self-released Yunahon Mixtape showcases the brilliant songwriting that’s garnered Oso Oso a cult following. While the full album tells a story of relationships and fucking up, “The Cool” offers a perfectly standalone set of lyrics detailing the honeymoon phase and looking past it: “And when I fall in love I always try to run away.” Is he running away with her or from her? Likely one, and then the other, as the song concludes with “the next disaster’s always around the bend.” When the shortcut to intimacy doesn’t work anymore, then what? The stage is set as a lively guitar solo sends you on your way down the long way home in scenic Yunahon. – Chris Favata
10. Home Is Where – “Skin Meadow”
The opening number of Home Is Where’s 2023 album The Whaler immediately cemented the group as one of, if not the, most fascinating emo groups of today. A raucous, pummeling intro is followed by a bouncy chant of the song’s title reminiscent of Animal Collective’s Sung Tongs era, then followed by more pummeling led by Tilley Komorny’s furious strumming. Bea MacDonald turns phrases like “Forgive me for giving a shit, a shit, ahhh shit” into a despondent soliloquy. MacDonald’s vocal performance is as inspired as ever, from sing-talking to loud barking and, ahem, wailing. Similarly the arrangement showcases the range of the band. Where the staccato guitars become swells of singing saw and MacDonald sings the final lyrics but halfway through the song, giving way to a deafening ending reminiscent of something on Lift Yr Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven. The song points back at its influences, but the personalities of its players make it altogether extraordinary. – Chris Favata
9. Cap’n Jazz – “Little League”
“Little League” singlehandedly exemplifies everything great about Cap’n Jazz: Tim comes in barrelling the opening “hey,” as the track’s simultaneously crunchy and bright guitars and Mike’s high-power drumming support the space surrounding him. “Hey coffee eyes / You got me coughing up my cookie heart / Making promises to myself / Promises like seeds of everything I could be,” he addresses his hickey-prone, Molly Ringwald-type lover. The musicality and panache of these performances are simultaneously so good that you can’t believe they were all teenagers and so impassioned that they couldn’t possibly be any other age. – Leah Weinstein
8. Everyone Everywhere – “I Feel Exhausted”
In the early 2010s, Philadelphia felt like the center of the universe. The emo scene at the time was firing on all cylinders. In the myriad of bands and albums, singalongs and choruses, we were given plenty of incredible records, and among them Everyone, Everywhere’s second self-titled album (also called LP2) slowly worked its way into becoming a cult-like hit. It’s opening track “I Feel Exhausted” can now almost feel like an insect in amber. Jangly guitars, a slightly gruff voice, whirling drums and grungy, bouncy bass lines, a DNA sequence of so many, yet here uniquely executed. – Elias Amini
7. American Football – “Never Meant”
The song that launched a thousand tunings. This birth of the twinkle? Much like their late-‘90s peers in Braid, American Football found ways to marry complex arrangements with complex feelings, but here there’s a newfound delicacy with Steve Holmes and Mike Kinsella’s harmonious guitars punctuated by the jazzy drumwork of Steve Lamos that legions of successors would chase but few would master. The soft regret of love lost set to the back drop of a bittersweet melody that stands in stark contrast to the emo’s origins—“Never Meant” boasts a romanticism akin to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. An attempt to erase a string of beautiful memories to avoid the painful reminders of what once was. The song would also serve as a meta reflection on the band itself, which disbanded shortly after, over time becoming one of the genre’s most profound and influential songs. – Chris Favata
6. Knapsack – “Katherine the Grateful”
Realistically we could have gone with either this or “Thursday Side of the Street.” Ultimately what you get with either—as with most Knapsack songs—is a gritty anthem straddling emo and alternative rock that you can shout along to with ease. It’s a curiosity that Knsapsack didn’t quite cross over like their peers in Sunny Day Real Estate or Jimmy Eat World, as one could argue they offered the best of both bands. Blair Shehan’s knack for hooks is as unmistakable as his voice. “Katherine the Grateful” sets the tone for one of emo’s greatest albums to those in the know: An endlessly replayable earworm backed by crunchy power chords, dipping into a soft hush just long enough to recharge for the final boisterous chorus. “You can be grateful” this song exists. – Chris Favata
5. The Get Up Kids – “Holiday”
Two pick scrapes and a drumroll reintroduce The Get Up Kids in the first seconds of Something to Write Home About, and, no matter what sort of speakers they’re blaring from, they’ll fill the whole room. The band’s Vagrant Records debut was a bolder, catchier affair than their scrappy 1997 effort Four Minute Mile, and “Holiday” is the perfect showcase of their newfound interest confidence. The way Matt Pryor sneers those opening lines—“What became of everyone I used to know? / Where did our respectable convictions go?”—makes it clear he’s bitter about the good old days, but everything else about “Holiday” is pure sweetness, boasting one of the band’s biggest hooks and smuggling in some of Jim Suptic’s prettiest riffs in the bridge. The “yesterdays” evoked in the chorus aren’t times The Get Up Kids would prefer to return to, but “Holiday” makes it all sound unforgettable. – Zac Djamoos
4. Braid – “The New Nathan Detroits”
Nothing like fully realizing your sound on a song that details a conversation about whether or not it’s a good idea to pursue your band—even more so that it proved to be their final record (for a long time, at least). On “The New Nathan Detroits,” Chris Roach and Bob Nanna discuss with their parents the prospects of a normal life with stable income versus an emo band gutting it out on the road for a pittance. Boasting angular riffs and a jerky chorus, and capped off with an anthemic bridge, this song’s got it all. – Chris Favata
3. The Promise Ring – “Is This Thing On?”
The immediacy of The Promise Ring’s “Is This Thing On?” makes it one of the most infectious emo openers of all time. It starts off their classic album Nothing Feels Good with speedy ringing chords that make you feel as if you caught the band mid-sentence and need to pick up the pace if you’re going to keep up with the momentum of the song. It has a youthful, lighthearted pop-punk energy behind it as the same assonant lines repeat themselves during the entire duration of the song and simply urges you to sing along as if it’s still 1997 and we’ve got people to see, places to go. – Loan Pham
2. Sunny Day Real Estate – “Seven”
Sunny Day Real Estate’s “Seven” serves as the opening track on their debut album Diary, but the track itself has one of the most iconic buildups within the first 30 seconds. When the instruments fall away to a murmur behind Jeremy Enigk’s soft-spoken vocals, it’s immediately followed by a succession of drum blasts before it gives way once again and allows Enigk to shine through with a quiet strength. The chorus of “You’ll taste it in time” feels like a self-fulfilling prophecy now that the band has returned to the stage with more listeners than they ever had as an active band in the ‘90s, and the way the song utilizes space makes a surprisingly heavy impact that’s still difficult to compete with today. – Loan Pham
1. The Hotelier – “An Introduction to the Album”
At any Hotelier show, the moment every fan waits for comes three-fourths of the way into “An Introduction to the Album”: when Christian Holden pulls away from the mic and everyone gets to scream, “fuck!” In the actual recorded song, the swear is nearly incomprehensible, easily mistaken for a wordless gasp—a moment of such total defeat that language fails entirely. That’s the moment, too, when the full band comes in and the song roars to life, when the lonely electric organ that framed Holden’s vocals is replaced by an all-out assault in waltz time, like the band’s trying to drown out the guilt, outrun the past. With Home, Like Noplace Is There, emo grew up. The Hotelier synthesized all the best parts of the waves of the genre that preceded them—the melodic ear of The Get Up Kids, the do-or-die earnestness of Braid, the spiritual yearning of Mineral, the omnivore ambition of Jimmy Eat World, all the way back to the communitarian worldview of Fugazi—and created a new template for the genre in the 2010s and beyond, and it all began with “An Introduction to the Album.” It is everything that deceptively modest title suggests and more, perfectly summarizing the themes of mental health and interpersonal conflict that recur throughout Home, Like Noplace Is There as well as establishing the sonic territory the album will cover, featuring its sparsest moments as well as some of its most explosive, its most triumphant passages as well as some of its most hopeless. “I had a chance to construct something beautiful,” spits Holden in the song’s final seconds, “and I choked.” Maybe so—but with “An Introduction to the Album,” they set the standard for how an emo album should begin. – Zac Djamoos