“Midwest emo” is a label that has often been the subject of hot debate – mention a band like Mineral or The Hotelier (or God forbid, Modern Baseball) in the wrong room, and you’re in for it for at least the next half hour.
Not today. Not here. Lost Henry is an emo band from the Midwest. Simple.
…
Well, maybe there are a few more relevant details.
Lost Henry is an emo band from right here in the greatest city in the Midwest. Nobody in the band is named Henry, but there are evidently two Bens (Eglian on guitar, mandolin and vocals, and Rosenstiel also on guitar). They have a handful of singles, a few EPs and their lone studio album, “Doom Party,” over their eight-year tenure.
Their most recent single, “Overgrown” from just last month, highlights frontman Landis Helwig’s screamo chops as well as the technical guitar work going on from the Bens – maybe sharing a first name helps with intuition.
The band has always been versatile, producing sounds closer to pop punk (“Another Memory”), a more theatrical direction (“The Blackwater Rag”) and of course, good ol’ skramz. Even echoes of old-school emotional hardcore show up on tracks like “Love Scene, Take 2,” but these shifts between moods feel natural and legitimate because so much obvious care is put into the thrashing, crashing intensity of every track.
The band went on tour for the first time in March 2025 to four cities: Dayton, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and a final show in Brooklyn at UNRULY Collective. Locally, you can catch them around familiar venues like the MOTR Pub, Southgate House Revival or The Comet.
So the next time you’re at a party talking about Algernon Cadwallader or Cap’n Jazz’s Analphabetapolothology (both real) and someone cred checks your emo knowledge, ask them to name three songs from your new favorite local Midwest emo band, Lost Henry.
Okay, don’t actually do that. Use your local band knowledge for good, please. Spread the word kindly.
And remember that Midwest emo isn’t a debate; it’s right here in your backyard.
You can find last week’s feature on Dead Humor here. Leave a comment on our Instagram or email me at ebloomfield@linknky.com with your suggestions for next week’s local band highlight!