The Soundboard called Sweet Tooth a record where choruses ‘drill in with zero resistance’ — blink-182 hook-craft applied to emo that still holds its emotional ground. That was 2022. Mom Jeans, the Berkeley four-piece who made it, return to Emo’s Austin on October 25 on a 20-date fall headline run, with a fourth studio album reportedly in development.
About the Show
Eric Butler and Austin Carango started writing together as UC Berkeley freshmen in 2014, eventually pulling in guitarist Bart Thompson and bassist Sammy Kless. Despite the Berkeley address, their music gets filed as Midwest emo — the tag follows the sound, not the ZIP code. The band describes their approach as blending ‘the emotional rawness of emo, the energy of punk, and a healthy dose of honest lyrics,’ shaped by a love of Joyce Manor, Modern Baseball, and Tiny Moving Parts. Butler has put the lyrical core more plainly: ‘I think a lot of the same feelings that you go through when you lose a really close friend… are the same feelings you feel when you get dumped.’
Best Buds debuted in 2016, followed by Puppy Love in 2018. Sweet Tooth (Pure Noise, 2022) is when the critical framing shifted. The Soundboard praised its ‘impressively sharp clip,’ singling out ‘Something Sweet,’ ‘Hippo In The Water,’ and ‘Anime Theme Song’ as standouts, the hook-craft suddenly in the conversation with blink-182 and Green Day. Bear Market (November 2023) took a step back: an acoustic LP of reimagined earlier tracks, the kind of record a band releases before a push forward. That fourth studio album is reportedly in development. The fall run spans 20 dates from September through November, with Riot Fest and Four Chord Music Festival already in the rearview. Harrison Gordon and Sobs open the Austin date.
Venue & Logistics
Emo’s Austin is on East Riverside, a 1,700-capacity club the band has played and packed before. When they last came through, they wore matching cowboy hats and opened with ‘What’s Up’ from Sweet Tooth. The Austin date falls mid-tour, coming off Pacific Northwest and Mountain West legs before the run turns toward Arizona and California. Show at 6:30 p.m. A pre-doors patio upgrade opens at 5:30 p.m. for an additional fee.
Tickets
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