Omaha, Nebraska-based indie rock band Cursive performs Sunday, Sept. 7, at WOW Hall. They are supporting last year’s Devourer, the group’s eighth full-length studio album, and their first release since 2019. Together since the late ’90s, Cursive are perhaps most well-known for 2000’s Domestica, and the now seminal The Ugly Organ, released three years later. Cursive always hit harder than the folky strumming of former Saddle Creek Records labelmates Bright Eyes. And while neither Cursive nor Bright Eyes is exactly emo, both bands were responding to a similar millennial moment in their music, unpacking a sort of landlocked anxiety like bands more closely associated with the Midwest strain of the genre. Setting Cursive apart is unique instrumentation featuring string and horn bridges, and interludes similar to other eclectic 2000s bands like Arcade Fire. But for the most part, Cursive is tried and true indie rock. Bandleader Tim Kasher’s catchy, melodic but emotive singing voice covers introspective and personal topics, along with hard-hitting percussion and electric guitars. Devourer finds Kasher in a reflective mood, looking back on his decades-long career in the music industry and on a life spent pursuing creativity. These days, Kasher lives in Los Angeles, but he tells Eugene Weekly that most of Cursive are still in Omaha. Remembering the band’s early days in the city, Kasher says there was “so much support, a good group of people who were looking out for one another.” He adds, “As Saddle Creek kind of had its big moment in the aughts, there was a lens focused on the city.” As he met musicians from different cities, he was surprised to find how many of them talked about the difficulties of their respective music scenes. “The success that came out of Omaha has to do with the fact that it was people who were propping one another up.”

Cursive plays 7:30 pm Sunday, Sept. 7, at WOW Hall, 291 West 8th Avenue, supported by Chris Crisci of Appleseed Cast, another emo-adjacent band of the era. Tickets are $25 advance at WowHall.org and $30 at the door. The show is all ages.