There’s a certain beauty in chaos—Chicago knows this, and so does Just a Mess. Their first album, Reservations, crashed onto the scene in 2019 like a bar fight at last call, all heart, sweat, and blistered-knuckle ambition. It’s pop punk with dirt under its nails, emo with a bleeding heart and a busted lip. The sound of late nights, bad decisions, and the kind of reckless optimism that only exists when you’re young and hungry. Even as a freshman effort, it delivered in a big way—Manifest Destiny emerged from the track list to become one of their biggest hits, a testament to the raw energy and undeniable hooks that defined Just a Mess from the start.

Imagine Drowning in a Pool of Your Own Blood

Just a Mess is an Alternative Rock band from Downtown Chicago.