Wow, I'm turning into BRTD faster than I would like.
Forever Starts Today
Stand Atlantic
Valencia
The Appleseed Cast
The Wonder Years
Hit the Lights
Mayday Parade
Hey Mercedes
Transit
Real Friends
Fireworks
Cap'n Jazz
Motion City Soundtrack
Rainer Maria
We actually both got Motion City Soundtrack on ours, lol. Tried Cap'n Jazz, wasn't my cup of tea. I'll check out the others.
Also for more guidance why I recommended each one:
Forever Starts Today - They sound like early Paramore and the vocalist even does like Hayley a bit.
Stand Atlantic - Same but Australian
Valencia - Kind of forgotten and sadly overlooked melodic pop-punk from about 15 years ago, sound seems to be really up your alley.
The Appleseed Cast - One of my favorite bands, classic Midwest emo sound and then expanded to be more post-rock influenced, you seem to be into both. Their original name was even "December's Tragic Drive" (after a line in a Sunny Day Real Estate song.)
The Wonder Years - They're kind of the New Found Glory of this generation. All of their stuff is good although it changed a lot, they went from upbeat but cynical pop-punk to now more mature alt-rock sounding stuff, you like a lot of both sounds. Actually I should also mention Spanish Love Songs who are similar and opened for them last time I saw them.
Hit the Lights - They were one of the best bands from that wave of bands that wanted to sound like NFG and A Day To Remember.
Mayday Parade - A B-tier band from the whole Fall Out Boy/Paramore wave but very good...I'll note here that all you really need to listen to know if you'll like them is "Jamie All Over", if you don't like that you sure won't like anything else haha. If you do definitely check out the rest of the "A Lesson in Romantics" album.
Hey Mercedes - 3/4 the same band as Braid, another band from that Midwest Emo scene, but they had a more upbeat and poppy sound than Braid which is why I went with them, especially if you aren't into Cap'n Jazz.
Transit - They were another sort of melodic pop-punk/indie rock band from that scene about ten years ago, and one of the best. Sadly broken up and unlikely to reunite as the guitarist/backing vocalist tragically committed suicide a few years ago...but if you like them I'll also recommend his side project Misser.
Real Friends - I've seen them open for The Wonder Years and Mayday Parade and in the same vein, also namedrop Jimmy Eat World in one song.
Fireworks - Close friends with The Wonder Years and I've seen them with them as well.
Rainer Maria - Really awesome 90s Midwest emo, their sound shifted though so you may prefer their later stuff to the early stuff which was pretty rough and played up the emo tropes. "Look Now, Look Again" and "A Better Version of Me" are probably the best albums that hit that intersection. Their later ones were good, as one as their post-reunion self-titled one, but that one does have a bit of a different sound.
