Dear Maryanne, Equipment, Arcadia Grey, Pretty Bitter

Dear Maryanne is a Midwest emo band from Boston, Massachusetts. Formed in 2021, Dear Maryanne’s music is influenced by artists such as Mom Jeans, Marietta, La Dispute, and Free Throw – emphasizing noodly guitar riffs and hyper-specific, yet universally relatable lyrics.

With whiplash-inducing guitar hooks and sing-along passages that mirror the volatile subject matter, Equipment is a band that shifts the spotlight toward a different facet of the modern emo genre. Vulnerability can be found in full effect, yet is often shaded by gallows humor and danceable choruses. The Toledo, Ohio quartet has become known as veterans of their DIY music scene, striving to challenge the medium, surprise listeners, and leave a positive impact.

Queer punk at its best, Arcadia Grey is for everyone willing to have a good time. Creating singles that make you dance like a fool, and tracks that will hit deep for those experiencing complications with gender dysphoria, is what the Chicago natives do best, especially on their latest release “Casually Crashing”.

Mainstays of the D.C. DIY scene, Pretty Bitter live up to their name. Masters of all kinds of dissonance, they juxtapose stories of haunting and heartbreak with dazzling pop-rock arrangements. Pretty Bitter makes music that gets the emo kids dancing. They’re unafraid to infuse their blistering breakdowns with hits of disco and synthpop—and that’s exactly what they’ve done on Pleaser, their sophomore album.  Their observational, heart-on-sleeve songwriting is as effortless as their fluttering between the jangly, dreamy inclinations of rock, pop, and folk.