Moral Panic: Bright Eyes, The Used and the rest of the week's emo news in brief

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By ( Louder ) last updated

From Bright Eyes announcing a full-blown reunion tour to The Used dropping new music, here's everything you need to know about what's been going on in the 2020 emo revival

Bright Eyes reunion press shot
(Image credit: Shawn Brackbill)

Over the last few years, the 00s emo revival has been snowballing. With comeback tours, reformations, emo nights and new artists adopting the sound, it’s now somehow bigger than ever. In the last few months, the quiet hum of emo’s comeback has grown to a scream, and it’s here to stay. 2020 is the new 2005, so in this fortnightly column, Marianne Eloise, who’s been covering the revival since 2016, will round up (some) of the near-daily emo news: from new shows to new songs to cryptic clues.

The last fortnight has been relatively quiet after the last few instalments of My Chemical Romance-mania, and honestly, maybe that’s not the worst thing. Us ageing emos need to be somewhat careful with our hearts, after all. Still, they haven’t all actually been taking time off: the Netflix adaptation of Gerard Way’s The Umbrella Academy teased its second season, while Frank Iero and the Future Violents dropped a video for new song Basement Eyes.

While it’s been a quieter couple of weeks, it’s not been entirely dead as far as the emo and pop punk revival is concerned. Here’s what has gone down:

The Used announced a new album...

On February 6, The Used dropped the mouthful of a single, Paradise Lost, A Poem By John Milton. They also announced a new studio album, the band’s eighth, with the very emo title Heartwork. It features massive names, including Mark Hoppus, Travis Barker, and FEVER 333’s Jason Aalon Butler. In a statement on Twitter, frontman Bert McCracken revealed that the new album is tending towards the emo side of things: “The new album plays on the emotions, the sincerity, and the vulnerability of the first record and In Love and Death” he said. 

The Used are currently on tour in the US and will be visiting the UK surrounding their stint at Slam Dunk in May. A tracklist for Heartwork reveals some other literary references, like 1984 (Infinite Jest) and Gravity’s Rainbow.

...and sent fans into meltdown by cancelling their European tour dates

We mentioned in the last instalment of Moral Panic that The Used's Bert McCracken had whipped fans into a frenzy by suggesting the band would be supporting My Chemical Romance on their summer tour dates – later to deny it all and insist he was joking. 

Internet sleuths were quick to point out it seemed unlikely – while none of the dates directly overlapped, The Used's own touring schedule in the UK and Europe meant it seemed unlikely that the band would be able to make both slots work. 

However, today the band announced that they're cancelling their European tour dates as "an opportunity has arisen for The Used that we absolutely couldn’t turn down", and that there's a "big news update to be revealed ASAP". That has been evidence enough for most to assume it's because they really are joining My Chem on the road. Could it be that McCracken wasn't joking at all? 

New Found Glory and Simple Plan are touring

Now, obviously, neither New Found Glory or Simple Plan are strictly emo bands. But really, who is? They are, however, through and through pop punk bands, a genre which is enjoying a comeback on its own. 

The bands announced a joint tour with a funny little video on Twitter on February 11th. The video shows New Found Glory’s Jordan Pundik and Simple Plan’s Pierre Bouvier running into one another outside Pundik’s home while wearing one another’s merch. After fanboying a little, the pair decide to go on a tour: the Pop Punk’s Still Not Dead tour to be specific – if a little on the nose. No UK dates as of yet, but hopefully they’ll sort that out.

Bright Eyes are also touring

Not to be biased, but this very much is saving the best ‘til last. After announcing a full-blown comeback complete with new music in January, Bright Eyes sent all of our little hearts into overdrive. Never ones to disappoint, they’re one of the only bands coming back for a UK tour that won’t set us back hundreds in a 30,000+ capacity venue (sorry MCR). The tour, announced earlier this week, includes dates in London, Manchester, Glasgow, Dublin and Birmingham at smaller venues. You can buy tickets here from February 21st.

That's all for this fortnight – check back in two weeks' time for the latest in the world's emo revival news

Marianne Eloise
Marianne Eloise

Marianne Eloise is a contributing writer to Louder where she has interviewed everyone from Pete Wentz to Taylor Momsen. With over a decade of experience in both online and print journalism, she writes about music, disability and culture for The Cut, the Guardian, the New York Times and more. She is also the author of the essay collection Obsessive, Intrusive Magical Thinking and creator of the Emo Diary fanzine series.