While love and anxiety are pretty common topics in this subgenre of rock - call it “emo”, “post-hardcore”, “scene”, or whichever identifier you prefer - An Ending in Itself delivers these breakdown-driven mental explorations well.

On SOMA, Skrillex continues his genre reinvention, taking world sounds and blending them with the subwoofer-shattering bass drops he’s become known for. He’s more subdued this time around, but the heavy moments still make their presence known.

The Boys of Dungeon Lane is an album about love - friendship love, romantic love, familial love, and all of the complicated emotions that range from it. Specifically, it is about what happens to love over time. Sometimes it grows fonder, sometimes it starts to fade. But how lucky it is that we are to have loved at all.

Turnstile makes me genuinely excited for the future of the genre. NEVER ENOUGH is a clear case that punk rock and hardcore can indeed evolve, retain their core elements, and still be interesting.