Sects – Self-Titled

Formed in 2025, Sects is a newer Chicago-based emo band featuring veterans of the Midwestern scene from Welcome to Berlin, Tractor Beam, and 15,000 Guns. Not that I’m familiar with all those bands, but these folks absolutely stole my heart as soon as I hit play on their self-titled demo.

Opener “Party at Mo’s House” immediately throws me into the territory of Hot Cross/Off Minor’s spazzed-out, mathy, jazzy screamo, with hints of noise-rock, desperate screaming, and the kind of dynamic persuasion I really dig in this music. By the end of the track, I couldn’t believe it was only a minute and a half long, but the band takes its time with the following four songs, all of which stretch past the four-minute mark.

The second track, “Straits,” lasts over five minutes, with its first half built around instrumental passages, laid-back, noodling guitars, and a sound that brings to mind Slint-loving pioneers of that particular kind of post-hardcore; think Maximillian Colby and Sleepytime Trio. Then, slowly accumulating tension, the second half brings in the kind of heart-wrenching screams that make this feel like an emo record in the most honest and original sense of this overused genre tag.

The third track, “HTS,” is the real standout here. Musically, it brings to mind legends like Kidcrash, or the early The Saddest Landscape, with the vocal performance around the three-minute mark especially nailing down that early 2000s vibe. Both musically and lyrically, this track has everything you could want and expect from the genre. Lush, catchy parts, dense screaming, and crescendo-based cathartic releases.

“Quarter Bells in Country Sleep” comes next, mirroring the structure of the second track with an extended instrumental section borrowing from slowcore and mathy post-rock before the screamo elements come in to give it strength and release. The closing self-titled track is another true emo gem, building its beauty on repetition, restraint, and pure emotional delivery. The dueling vocals sit perfectly over the somber guitars and incredibly catchy rhythm section.

Besides everything said so far, the record was recorded in a completely DIY way in the band’s rehearsal space. On top of that, they have a minimalist, old-fashioned website at sects.online, which is part of the local Ypsilanti Pop Syndicate webring. It’s fantastic to see punks going back to old-school message boards, webrings, minimalist websites, and Fediverse servers. Long live the ASCII artwork, small web and webrings!

I haven’t listened to or reviewed that many emo records lately, but this one absolutely stunned me. So much love for this band.