Despite the title, the bands featured in the series have a diversity of sounds that do not all necessarily fit into the emo style of rock music. Andy Greenwald, in his book Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers, and Emo, claims that the series "stake[s] a claim for emo as more a shared aesthetic than a genre."
The title of the series does not accurately reflect its diverse musical styles. According to Andy Greenwald's book Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers, and Emo, the series "asserts a claim for emo as more of a shared visual identity than a specific music genre.