The genre originated with bands from the [[hardcore punk]] scene who began making music inspired by 1990s emo and post-hardcore groups like [[Rival Schools (band)|Rival Schools]] and [[the Promise Ring]] as well as early 1990s alternative rock groups like the [[Smashing Pumpkins]], [[Soundgarden]] and [[Alice in Chains]].<ref name=”Enis, 2022″>{{cite web |last1=Enis |first1=Eli |title=A Glaring Lack of Grunge in the Grunge Revival |date=12 October 2022 |url=https://endlessscroll.substack.com/p/a-glaring-lack-of-grunge-in-the-grunge |access-date=22 October 2023}}</ref> In the early 2010s, the first wave of bands in the genre emerged, including [[Adventures (band)|Adventures]], [[Balance and Composure]], [[Basement (band)|Basement]], [[Citizen (band)|Citizen]], [[Pity Sex]], [[Superheaven]] and [[Turnover (band)|Turnover]]. The majority of these bands were signed to [[Run for Cover Records]], made use of fuzz pedals and filmed their music videos using [[8 mm film]].<ref name=”Enis, 2022″ /> [[Title Fight]] stood at the forefront of the genre with the success of their 2012 album ”[[Floral Green]]”.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Enis |first1=Eli |title=12 albums where a band did something totally unexpected |url=https://www.kerrang.com/features/12-albums-where-an-artist-did-something-unexpected/ |website=[[Kerrang!]] |date=16 April 2021 |access-date=28 April 2021}}</ref>
The genre originated with bands from the [[hardcore punk]] scene who began making music inspired by 1990s emo and post-hardcore groups like [[Rival Schools (band)|Rival Schools]] and [[the Promise Ring]] as well as early 1990s alternative rock groups like the [[Smashing Pumpkins]], [[Soundgarden]] and [[Alice in Chains]].<ref name=”Enis, 2022″>{{cite web |last1=Enis |first1=Eli |title=A Glaring Lack of Grunge in the Grunge Revival |date=12 October 2022 |url=https://endlessscroll.substack.com/p/a-glaring-lack-of-grunge-in-the-grunge |access-date=22 October 2023}}</ref> In the early 2010s, the first wave of bands in the genre emerged, including [[Adventures (band)|Adventures]], [[Balance and Composure]], [[Basement (band)|Basement]], [[Citizen (band)|Citizen]], [[Pity Sex]], [[Superheaven]] and [[Turnover (band)|Turnover]]. The majority of these bands were signed to [[Run for Cover Records]], made use of fuzz pedals and filmed their music videos using [[8 mm film]].<ref name=”Enis, 2022″ /> [[Title Fight]] stood at the forefront of the genre with the success of their 2012 album ”[[Floral Green]]”.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Enis |first1=Eli |title=12 albums where a band did something totally unexpected |url=https://www.kerrang.com/features/12-albums-where-an-artist-did-something-unexpected/ |website=[[Kerrang!]] |date=16 April 2021 |access-date=28 April 2021}}</ref>
By 2015, many North American [[Defend Pop Punk era]] acts had shifted their sound in favor of soft grunge.<ref>{{cite web |last1=D |first1=Sergeant |author-link=Finn McKenty |title=Is TR00 POP PUNK the next big scene trend??? |url=https://archive.ph/7OPIr |website=[[Stuff You Will Hate]] |access-date=4 February 2026}}</ref>
By 2015, many North American [[Defend Pop Punk ]] acts had shifted their sound in favor of soft grunge.<ref>{{cite web |last1=D |first1=Sergeant |author-link=Finn McKenty |title=Is TR00 POP PUNK the next big scene trend??? |url=https://archive.ph/7OPIr |website=[[Stuff You Will Hate]] |access-date=4 February 2026}}</ref>
By the early 2020s, a second wave emerged including [[Fleshwater]] and [[Narrow Head]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Enis |first1=Eli |title=A Glaring Lack of Grunge in the Grunge Revival |date=12 October 2022 |url=https://endlessscroll.substack.com/p/a-glaring-lack-of-grunge-in-the-grunge |access-date=22 October 2023 |quote=[After discussing soft grunge:] Not only are those bands from about a decade ago still relevant in a way I didn’t quite expect, but throughout the last couple years, and 2022 in particular, there’s also been an unavoidable resurgence of new bands who are basically making the exact same type of music, many of them signed to the same label(s), participating in the same scene and sometimes even featuring the same members. Bands like Narrow Head, Soul Blind, Fleshwater, Gravedweller, Webbed Wing, Bleed and Superbloom could be paired off with any of the aforementioned groups and form a cohesive tour package. }}</ref>
By the early 2020s, a second wave emerged including [[Fleshwater]] and [[Narrow Head]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Enis |first1=Eli |title=A Glaring Lack of Grunge in the Grunge Revival |date=12 October 2022 |url=https://endlessscroll.substack.com/p/a-glaring-lack-of-grunge-in-the-grunge |access-date=22 October 2023 |quote=[After discussing soft grunge:] Not only are those bands from about a decade ago still relevant in a way I didn’t quite expect, but throughout the last couple years, and 2022 in particular, there’s also been an unavoidable resurgence of new bands who are basically making the exact same type of music, many of them signed to the same label(s), participating in the same scene and sometimes even featuring the same members. Bands like Narrow Head, Soul Blind, Fleshwater, Gravedweller, Webbed Wing, Bleed and Superbloom could be paired off with any of the aforementioned groups and form a cohesive tour package. }}</ref>
Soft grunge music (in the early 2010s called grunge revival)[1] is genre that merges elements of emo and grunge.[2]
Acts in the genre often embrace elements from a diverse array of styles including pop punk, alternative rock,[3] shoegaze, grunge, indie rock and post-hardcore.[4] Uproxx writer Ian Cohen called the genre “the midpoint” between Stone Temple Pilots‘s song “Sex Type Thing” (1993) and Sunny Day Real Estate‘s song “In Circles” (1994).[5]
The genre originated with bands from the hardcore punk scene who began making music inspired by 1990s emo and post-hardcore groups like Rival Schools and the Promise Ring as well as early 1990s alternative rock groups like the Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains.[6] In the early 2010s, the first wave of bands in the genre emerged, including Adventures, Balance and Composure, Basement, Citizen, Pity Sex, Superheaven and Turnover. The majority of these bands were signed to Run for Cover Records, made use of fuzz pedals and filmed their music videos using 8 mm film.[6] Title Fight stood at the forefront of the genre with the success of their 2012 album Floral Green.[7]
By 2015, many North American Defend Pop Punk Era acts had shifted their sound in favor of soft grunge.[8]
By the early 2020s, a second wave emerged including Fleshwater and Narrow Head.[9]
- ^ Kempf, Brandon Gregory (2019-04-12). Through the Lens of Grunge: Distortion of Subcultures in Gentrified Seattle. College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University. pp. 19–20.
This dichotomy suggests both a refreshment and rebirth, in the form of the newly branded “soft grunge,” as well as an induction to a preexisting classics/classic rock category…Perhaps the biggest proponents of the creative resurgence of grunge were music journalists who identified new tendencies towards certain sonic trends in the early 2010s as ‘”grunge-y,” even as “grunge throwback” or “grunge revival.” Whether this was premeditated or a concerted effort by the creators of the music was variable; some artists, such as east coast bands Title Fight, Citizen, Nothing, U.K. band Basement, and Australian band Violent Soho, embodied the likening to the 1990s grunge style, citing the music as highly influential to the development of their own artistic sound and style, and embraced the claim to leadership of the grunge revival. Other artists, such as east coast bands Superheaven, Creepoid, and U.K. band Yuck, are less tolerant of the comparison, rejecting any claims of imitation, and prefer their music not be pigeonholed or pinned down to one specific genre, style, or revivalist moment/movement.
- ^ “Will the Mid 2010′s = The Rise of Soft Grunge Music? (Potential Demise of Pop Punk – Important Read)”. Stuff You Will Hate. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
- ^ Jones, Marcus (16 January 2021). “Friday Five: Ashnikko samples Kelis, Flo Milli’s Fiddler on the Roof, and more”. Yahoo! News. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
Back in the early 2010s, Citizen’s breed of moody alt-emo put them at the forefront of the short-lived “soft grunge” movement. Their 2013 debut, Youth, is a tentpole of that era’s convergence of ’90s emo, abrasive pop-punk, and humbly anthemic alt-rock,
- ^ Enis, Eli (12 October 2022). “A Glaring Lack of Grunge in the Grunge Revival”. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
the “soft grunge” sound that Citizen and Turnover were pegged with — a moody, mid-tempo style of grungey indie with nasally emo vocals and sagging hooks that’re sometimes cut with a dash of post-hardcore bite… Each band had varying flecks of pop-punk, emo, shoegaze and hardcore
- ^ Cohen, Ian (17 April 2025). “A DECADE AND A VIRAL HIT LATER, SUPERHEAVEN ARE MOUNTING THEIR COMEBACK”. Uproxx. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
- ^ a b Enis, Eli (12 October 2022). “A Glaring Lack of Grunge in the Grunge Revival”. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
- ^ Enis, Eli (16 April 2021). “12 albums where a band did something totally unexpected”. Kerrang!. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
- ^ D, Sergeant. “Is TR00 POP PUNK the next big scene trend???”. Stuff You Will Hate. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
- ^ Enis, Eli (12 October 2022). “A Glaring Lack of Grunge in the Grunge Revival”. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
[After discussing soft grunge:] Not only are those bands from about a decade ago still relevant in a way I didn’t quite expect, but throughout the last couple years, and 2022 in particular, there’s also been an unavoidable resurgence of new bands who are basically making the exact same type of music, many of them signed to the same label(s), participating in the same scene and sometimes even featuring the same members. Bands like Narrow Head, Soul Blind, Fleshwater, Gravedweller, Webbed Wing, Bleed and Superbloom could be paired off with any of the aforementioned groups and form a cohesive tour package.
