Emily's Army

Emily's Army

Emily’s Army is a pop punk band from Oakland, California, formed in 2004 by Max Becker, Cole Becker and Joey Armstrong. The group begins under the name Raining Souls before taking the name Emily’s Army in tribute to the cousins’ relative Emily, who has cystic fibrosis; the name also matches a fundraising organisation connected to her. The band’s early sound draws on the East Bay scene, Gilman Street, classic power pop and garage rock, while its songs focus on teenage experience, cautionary tales, politics and adolescence.

Early years and first recordings

The members know each other for most of their lives and start making music together at a young age. Their first album is Don’t Be a Dick, recorded and mixed in four days at Jingletown Recordings in Oakland. Chris Dugan engineers the sessions and Billie Joe Armstrong produces them. The album includes songs such as “Broadcast This”, “Gutter”, “Bad Cop”, “Strictly For the Birds”, “I Wanna Be Remembered” and “Burn Apollo”, with lyrics addressing anger, police corruption, literature and personal themes.

Line-up and later change

Max Becker and Cole Becker write songs and play guitar, while Joey Armstrong plays drums. Travis joins the band in 2009 and adds another guitar part to the group’s sound. After playing clubs and all-ages shows along the California coast for several years, including a performance at Bowery Electric in New York City, the band announces a name change to Swimmers to follow after its performances at Soundwave in 2015.

Style

Emily’s Army is described as a teenage punk rock group with a strong melodic edge, combining punk energy with garage rock and power pop influences. Its songs are noted for their mixture of sincerity, angst and catchy hooks.