At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, 2025 was one of the best years for emo and emo adjacent music in decades. It felt like every Friday there was a new album of the year contender.

Welcome to the first ever NAPNET Freshman Fifteen. If the Emo All Stars of 2025 list is the all-pro team, then is more like a top prospects lists than an all rookie team. Look, if hip hop and baseball get to do it then why can’t we?

I thought it was only fitting to start with some bands I’ve had on the podcast that some people may have missed! I’m starting out with New Jersey’s own Palamino! I found Palamino on TikTok, and I am forever thankful because Palamino checked all the boxes to be a “Lisa band.” There is grit, emotional lyrics, and beautiful moments scattered within Palamino’s songs.

The Art of Shattering, the debut album by Atlanta pop-rock band glimmers, dropped today. This has been one of my most anticipated full-length albums of the year. For years, glimmers (Maggie Schneider and Alex Downtain) have been crafting some of the most infectious pop-rock songs around. Now, with their first full-length album, they’re showing the full force of their sound when it unites into one cohesive story

“If you don’t like something, change it.” – Maya Angelou

Cliché as it is, this overplayed and tragically underapplied one-liner is the essence of the punk rock philosophy. For the members of emerging east coast emo band, Career Day, it’s a way of life. Born of frustration with the underrepresentation of both minority groups and prominent social issues in the genre, the band is rapidly gaining momentum in the scene and making meaningful impact everywhere they go