Andrew Sacher's emo revival book gathers accounts from around 80 bands

Music journalist and former BrooklynVegan editor Andrew Sacher releases his first book, "Emo Revival: Community, DIY, and Rebirth in Post-Hardcore and Emo (2008-2018)", on September 8 via Clash Books. The book documents a decade of emo and post-hardcore through interviews with Algernon Cadwallader, Title Fight, Joyce Manor, Modern Baseball, Touché Amoré, The Menzingers, Tigers Jaw, PUP and The World Is A Beautiful Place and I Am No Longer Afraid to Die, alongside detailed retellings of live shows from the era.

The project took three years and involved conversations with roughly 80 bands. Sacher says the community angle was not part of his original pitch and grew into the core of the book once the interviews began piling up. He avoids the word "scene" altogether, arguing that what held the era together was a network of bands doing something the industry had abandoned and deciding to stick together.

Several of those stories made the final cut, including Jeremy Bolm of Touché Amoré describing his first encounter with Pianos Become the Teeth, and members of Snowing, then playing in Street Smart Cyclist, recalling the first time they saw Algernon Cadwallader. The cover photo, shot by Dan Bassini, comes from Snowing's farewell show.

The publisher choice was intentional. Sacher approached Clash Books after seeing the reach of "In Defense of Ska", and says working with the label-sized operation mirrored the relationships bands in the book describe having with their DIY labels.

A launch event is set for September 16 at Book Club Bar in Brooklyn, with Chris Payne, author of "Where Are Your Boys Tonight?", joining Sacher. Pre-orders are open now.