The musical roots of emo lie in the 1980s US hardcore punk scene, when some bands pioneered a heart-on-sleeve subgenre known as "emo-core" or "emotional hardcore".

BBC: Rock cult or nice kids that do their homework?

Emos are sometimes seen as a younger off-shoot of the Goth scene, Hodkinson suggests, though emo also has connections to hardcore punk.

BBC: How are goths and emos defined?

Dads play a strain of emo that has been going through resurgence in the national underground punk scene, and their messy yet tuneful songs offer a solid exemplar of the burgeoning sound.

FORBES: Cheap Tunes Quick Spins: Spook Houses and Dads