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Meet the internet’s hottest new emo band
Emo is big news again but nobody's bigger news than underground heroes August Is Falling
Few genres inspire as much devotion as emo and few emo bands inspire as much devotion as August Is Falling. Scroll through the comments on the secretive US quartet’s latest video and you’ll see passionate outpourings from diehard fans all over the world.
“I love this band!” says Blake Sutherland, “My sister and I saw them in Effingham, Illinois in 2019. It was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. My sister shouted that it was her birthday between songs and the band brought her on stage and had the whole audience sing Happy Birthday to her, she still says it was her best birthday.”
Reverend Sam says: “August is Falling got me through a hard time in my life. My dog died, my girlfriend found out about my wife, and my mom kicked me out. But August is Falling got me through it all.” Conner Thompson credits them for getting him through the pandemic: “I fell into a really dark place for obvious reasons. I honestly don’t know where I’d be without these lyrics. Thank you August Is Falling for literally saving my life.” Sponk agrees: “I’ll never forget the hours I spent in the hot tub during lockdown, listening to the album on repeat.”
Frank Tagliaferro fondly recounts taking his kids to see them at The Electric Factory. “The band came out into the crowd after the show and couldn’t have been nicer,” he says, “They took pics with the kids and seemed really humble and grateful for their fans.” Corey Richards has an even closer connection via his children: “Literally named my son August because of this band, huge fan since their first EP. Keep on rocking boys.”
But where did August Is Falling come from? Their latest single notched almost 140,000 views on YouTube in less than a week. The song itself was produced by the legend that is Butch Walker (Fall Out Boy, Green Day, Weezer). They’re currently the No.1 punk band on Bandcamp. How has all this happened without the band becoming a much bigger deal?
It’s a question that irked us. Donning our investigative journalist hat (it’s a fedora with a “press” card stuck in the band), we went searching for the band, only to encounter allegations that they were the invention of a 30-something musician from Philly called Pat Finnerty. Finnerty himself tries to take credit for AiF on an episode of his YouTube series What Makes This Song Stink, but the suggestion that a band that clearly bleeds black hair dye was concocted just to buy a hot tub is too ludicrous to consider.
Our attempts to contact the band hit a wall. Their Bandcamp account somehow led back to Finnerty, suggesting that his unhealthy obsession with the band has driven him to hack it. Their official site has no contact details at all. Maybe the truth is that August Is Falling aren’t about publicists or interviews or industry connections. They are all about their fans and the fans know exactly where to find them: forever lodged in their broken emo hearts.
The Simple Plan EP by August Is Falling is out now
