It's split release summer. Here, the New York-based acts ideasforconversations, Branching Out, and Holidays in United States team up for a perfect little project, fittingly titled Ideas for Branching in United States. Ideasforconversations sound like a twee-ified Jimmy Tamborello—saccharine boy-girl indieteonica. They’re always tender but never boring. The hottest new emo music is pretty heavy, but Branching Out does something different: “corny emo.” Their words, not mine. It feels like their lyrics were born before their instrumentals in the best way possible. There's just the right amount of each member in the mix. It’s as bright as it is confessional; there’s no shame in relating as a listener. It’s emo, after all. The highlight might be Holidays in United States, who are shouty, infectious, and a little math-pilled. “I Quit Sports” bottles up the first feeling of childhood failure, the kind that convinces you that the world’s ending, in a charming and unserious way. There’s mention of Chuck E. Cheese. If you dress like the 2002 Seventeen Magazine “Am I Emo?” guide, this one’s for you.