In 2016, the best rock music went emo. (And no, there were no nostalgic homages to Fall Out Boy.) Though of course some artists are more deserving of this designation than others, emo was never about observing any aesthetic; it was more or less about ripping hearts out. Headlined by the likes of The Hotelier\u2019s Goodness<\/i>, Pinegrove\u2019s Cardinal<\/i>, and Joyce Manor\u2019s Cody<\/i>, this year\u2019s rock was often as passionate and introspective as it was raging and electric.<\/p>\n
In curating this list of gems below, most of the year\u2019s defining songs were part of this emo wave. (It\u2019s no surprise three out of ten songs feature the Run for Cover Records logo.) But even so, these songs are a mixed bag musically and offer distinctive experiences. This list\u2019s contents may not even be enjoyed together as a whole. If 2016 taught us anything, it\u2019s that rock is increasingly become a feeling and it\u2019s hardly set in stone.<\/p>\n
Hope to see you back here next year, when every song on this list will be by Japandroids.<\/p>\n
PUP, <\/strong>\u201cMy Life Is Over and I Couldn\u2019t Be Happier\u201d (<\/strong>SideOneDummy)<\/strong> Joyce Manor, <\/strong>\u201cThe Last You Heard of Me\u201d (<\/strong>Epitaph Records)<\/strong> Pinegrove, <\/strong>\u201cOld Friends\u201d (<\/strong>Run for Cover Records)<\/strong> The Hotelier, <\/strong>\u201cOpening Mail for my Grandmother\u201d (<\/strong>Tiny Engines)<\/strong> Chumped, <\/strong>\u201cNot the One\u201d (<\/strong>Anchorless Records)<\/strong> Whitney, <\/strong>\u201cNo Woman\u201d (<\/strong>Secretly Canadian)<\/strong> Sheer Mag, <\/strong>\u201cCan\u2019t Stop Fighting\u201d (<\/strong>Static Shock)<\/strong> Parquet Courts, <\/strong>\u201cHuman Performance\u201d (<\/strong>Rough Trade Records)<\/strong> Modern Baseball, <\/strong>\u201cWedding Singer\u201d<\/strong> (Run for Cover Records)<\/strong> Crying, <\/strong>\u201cWool in the Wash\u201d (<\/strong>Run for Cover Records)<\/strong> Tiny Moving Parts, \u201cHeadache\u201d Best Rock Songs of 2016 In 2016, the best rock music went emo. (And no, there were no nostalgic homages to Fall Out Boy.) Though of course some artists are more deserving of this designation than others, emo was never about observing any aesthetic; it was more or less about ripping hearts out. Headlined by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":5366,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2479],"tags":[1872,1869,753,1870,41,1874,1875,1542,1873,1871],"class_list":["post-5393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-best-of-the-year","tag-chumped","tag-crying","tag-joyce-manor","tag-modern-baseball","tag-parquet-courts","tag-pine-grove","tag-pup","tag-sheer-mag","tag-the-hotelier","tag-whitney"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nIn one song, PUP becomes a wrecking crew that doubles as a commiseration source for the cheated. It\u2019s the kind of song that makes you want to punch stuff and burn things, if only for two-and-a-half minutes.<\/p>\n
\nOn \u201cThe Last You Heard of Me,\u201d Joyce Manor really came to own the Weezer references pinned on them for so long. There\u2019s nothing rehashed about this song, rather, it feels like the impetus for a new era of pop-punk.<\/p>\n
\nThe warmth of Evan Stephens Hall\u2019s voice and lyrics when combined with the largely acoustic backing proves particularly infectious on opener for Pinegrove\u2019s Cardinal<\/i> album. It\u2019s the perfect backdrop for what\u2019s to come.<\/p>\n
\nThe most devastating moment in music this year is when frontman Christian Holden sings this song\u2019s chorus. As the guitar cuts out and he delivers the last \u201cI\u2019m coming for you\u201d into a brief oblivion, the listener\u2019s left to pick themselves up off the ground.<\/p>\n
\nThe year opened up on a sad note with the announcement that Chumped was breaking up. But the pop-punk band left us with one last song that\u2019s titled and plays like we shouldn\u2019t miss them dearly when we definitely will.<\/p>\n
\nFor playing in a band that makes such beachy and, at times, sedated soft-rock, Whitney guitarist Max Kakacek absolutely shreds on a clean guitar tone like few before him, as witnessed here.<\/p>\n
\nThe strength of Christina Halladay\u2019s voice and the noodly, garage riffs underneath have always made Sheer Mag a relentless power-pop force. It makes sense they front a mission to keep fighting, even in extremely adverse situations.<\/p>\n
\nThe vulnerability and sense of melody in \u201cHuman Performance\u201d strays from the Parquet Courts of old (crafting songs like the incessant, one-chord racket of \u201cSunbathing Animal\u201d), but might have positioned the band to be a quality crossover rock act.<\/p>\n
\nModern Baseball served as a supporting act on Brand New\u2019s tour earlier this year, and this song\u2019s probably why they made it onto a stadium stage in the first place.<\/p>\n
\nThis near-virtuosic piece of guitar rock yearns for youthful days full of video games, wolfing down sweet tarts, and watching Sailor Moon<\/i>.<\/p>\nHonorable Mentions<\/h4>\n
\nDiarrhea Planet, \u201cBob Dylan\u2019s Grandma\u201d
\nJeff Rosenstock, \u201cWave Goodnight to Me\u201d
\nCar Seat Headrest, \u201cDrunk Drivers\/Killer Whales\u201d
\nLVL UP, \u201cShe Sustains Us\u201d
\nTy Segall, \u201cMandy Cream\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"