8 Boston Bands in the Alternative Scene That You Need to Know – TOP8 Scene
When you think of Boston, what bands do you associate it with?
Dropkick Murphys? Aerosmith? Both are, of course, accurate, but Boston’s punk, emo, hardcore, and alternative music scene has always been pushing out some of the best artists in the Northeast. Whether you are interested in the harder side of bands like Have Heart and Vanna, or if you were a Warped Tour kid seeing A Loss for Words and Four Year Strong or criminally underrated bands like The Hotelier and Transit, the Boston area has been spoiled with talent and here is just a selection of bands that are currently making waves in the local scene.
Mallcops have been making their name in Boston for a decade, bridging the connective tissues of the emo scene. Their music lives somewhere between indie rock, emo, and pop punk, with enough melody to make the sad parts deceptively easy to sing along to.
FFO: Oso Oso, Prince Daddy & The Hyenas, Origami Angel An album called I Know I’m Nothing, and There’s Nothing I Can Do should probably tell you exactly what emotional neighborhood Nicoteens live in. A major player in the local DIY emo scene, Nicoteens have found their place somewhere where emo revival meets power pop. Their music is complete with an anxious energy that might make existential dread surprisingly catchy.
FFO: Free Throw, Mom Jeans, Marietta
Noodley guitars, hyper-specific lyrics, and songs that make you long for a basement you’ve never been in? Check. Dear Maryanne has brought Midwest Emo to the Northeast. Their music feels nostalgic and familiar, even if the memories aren’t yours.
Somos formed in 2012 and has been actively participating in the emo revival. More than a decade after forming, their presence in the local ecosystem is a showcase of Boston’s local scene’s lineage. They bridge the gap between the bands that helped define the last decade and those that are filling local bills now.
Sophie’s Body has its own description for what they do: bubble-grunge. They combine distorted 90s-inspired guitar and heavier instrumentation with pop melodies, placing them somewhere along the blurry borders of grunge, alternative rock, indie, and the larger emo ecosystem. They are proof that Boston’s local scene isn’t interested in coloring inside the lines.
Hyber describes themselves as “joyously pissed-off emo” and, honestly, no notes. The Salem/Boston based band takes the emotional intensity expected from the scene and pairs it with poppy, bright, infectious hooks. They make being pissed off almost sound like a good time. With sing-along choruses and lyrics you’ll want to scream from the front row, Hyber’s got you covered.
FFO: Turnover, Citizen, The Hotelier
Formed while at the Berklee School of Music, Bay Faction has developed an almost cult following in the local scene. They took a break, but now they are back, better than ever. Their history is intertwined with Boston’s larger DIY ecosystem: their release helped launch local label Counter Intuitive Records.
FFO: Honey Revenge, Knuckle Puck, The Story So Far
If your tastes lean a little more Warped Tour, Ringpop!! has you covered. The band lives in the intersection of pop-punk and emo, with energetic big hooks and enough melancholy to keep things appropriately sad. Their debut album, Friend Crush, was written, recorded, and produced by the band themselves while they were finishing college.
Honorable Mentions:
Somewhere in the space between them is where Charlotte Sands thrives. Energetic, confessional and passionate, Sands may no longer live locally, but she grew up in the area—and at her recent Cambridge show proudly declared herself a “Masshole through and through.”
Local record labels worth noting:
Run for Cover Records - a local label that’s been operating out of Boston since 2004, building a roster that has included Modern Baseball, Alex G, Tigers Jaw, Citizen, Fiddlehead, Camp Hope, and Turnover. If you’re a fan of bands in the modern alternative/emo scene, there’s a good chance you already love a band that has passed through Run for Cover!
Counter Intuitive Records - occupies a similar space for the modern scene that expands far outside of the Northeast, with a roster that includes Mom Jeans, Origami Angel, Oso Oso, Prince Daddy & the Hyenas, and Boston’s own Bay Faction. And they’ve even opened a physical storefront in Brookline.
Want to keep digging? For those in the know, Nice, A Fest is Get to the Gig’s annual celebration of the local scene, bringing artists from around Boston and the New England area to play each summer. It was created in response to those who claim Boston doesn’t have a music scene. You’ll find many of these bands and more on their Boston Pop-Punk & Emo Playlist.
For more music recommendations, follow @top8scene
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