Where Emo, Grunge, and Migration Meet

Formed in 2024 in Porto, Portugal, Sense May is emerging as one of the most vibrant voices in the Iberian alternative rock scene. Fusing elements of Emo, Grunge, Hardcore, and Alt-Rock, the band delivers sharp guitars, melodic vocals, and a nostalgic ’90s aesthetic, yet with a unique voice that explores both inner struggles and social commentary.

Led by Tiago Sousa, whose experience as a Brazilian immigrant in Portugal shapes both lyrics and band identity, Sense May debuted with a self-titled EP that has already resonated across digital platforms and live stages, introducing audiences to a sound that is raw, intense, and emotionally charged. Sense May channels the energy of DIY underground rock while transforming personal and collective dilemmas into themes that connect with generations who grew up on Nirvana cassettes and early 2000s Emo playlists.

1. Considering the harsh and strange times we are living in, may I ask if you, being an immigrant, shapes in any way or form the way you create music. Art is born from pain, not only joy, and we all know how the World is rotten and sick at the moment. Does it flow into you Art? Do you let it flow into your Art?

Definitely, as you’ve said “art is born from pain, not only joy” and sometimes the most I live and face the reality as a member of the working class, the most I want to express my feelings on my music. Sometimes I want to express my anger, but sometimes I just want to share my pain and see if it resonates with other people’s pain.

2. Your debut EP touches on bureaucracy, existential doubts, and adult life challenges. Which song was the most challenging to write, and why? Are your lyrics bits and pieces of your own story?

I think the most challenging song to write was the least political or existential one: “Postcards”, because the main subject it’s a kind of a mystery and I didn’t want people to discover it so easily, even though the hints are clearly all there. But talking about the other songs, “Procedures” was one of the first songs to be written and at the time it was “easy” to do that because I had a lot in my head, but just some months later we started to see the unbelievable numbers of immigration requests that were stuck in SEF/AIMA and the lack of interest and human touch of all governments to solve the situation in a fair way. So, it became a challenging song because of this background, but I’d say it’s the most political moment of our concerts.

3. The ’90s nostalgia in your music is palpable. Which Grunge, Emo, Punk, Hardcore bands from that era – or different eras, for that matter – influenced Sense May the most? I get a feeling that younger musicians are bringing back the 90ies, however I am late to the party, having only found Superheaven last year (shame, shame, shame).

Talking about influences for us, they’re really vast! I’d mention Silverchair as the first one for sure, even though we don’t sound like them, they’re a huge inspiration for me and we used to cover one of their hits in our first concerts. We also used to cover Pearl Jam and Audioslave in our very first rehearsals and I believe this is when we crafted our friendship in music – even though we as individuals also enjoy a lot of music, from Björk to Melodic Death Metal.

But I’m gonna be honest, I’m way more into “modern” grunge bands that mix this 90s vibe with emo and punk. I’m always talking about Basement – the greatest band ever – Movements, Citizen, Teenage Angst and Fiddlehead as our main inspirations nowadays and I’m happy the other guys also started to enjoy them. These bands do all this mix while they’re also somehow part of the hardcore community in their countries and that’s what resonates with me so much, I’m a punk/hardcore guy, but also enjoyed a lot of grunge and emo music. Superheaven is also cool as hell.

4. How do you divide creative responsibilities when writing songs within the band? One of you brings in a riff, a beat, a verse; how does it work and how do you put all the pieces together in the end?

I’m the main writer for the band, I usually bring the song almost 90% done for them, and then I ask for their additions (details, rewriting a riff etc). Sometimes I also show an early idea at the rehearsals to see what they think about it and then I start to develop more into it. When the band started, I already had two demos done and ready to be shown. But I must confess my writing process is very slow.

5. Sense May’s sound balances aggression and melody. How do you maintain that equilibrium both in the studio and live?

Since I come from a hardcore punk background, I’m very open to sound aggressive live and that’s what we try to do: loud and distorted amps, aggressive drums and I even scream when necessary. And it works, we’ve got compliments about how we’re emotional when playing live. We of course like the way our first EP sounds, but I believe our main strength is our live concerts.

6. Following the previous question, I am curious about the crowds: younger people, older people? How does that work? Have you been getting, from the people, love and support?

We’re still in our first steps on creating a group of people who attend our concerts – as the industry say: a fanbase. But the feedback is being very interesting, we’ve played for some different audiences and we got compliments from older people (guys in their 40ies I’d say) talking about our “grunge” sound and how it resonates with them, but also in our very first concert there was this girl who came to me and said “hey, you sound like Basement!”, you also decrypted us in that first post. It’s still very few people who give us this type of feedback, but these are very important for us.

7. What are the key differences between your original EP and the “Live at Room27” project, and what message did you want to convey with this rawer version?

I wanted to show the so called “aggressivity” we have on a live setting – and also release two new songs to touch the waters. The first single of this live EP, “Save Your Demons”, got some compliments from punk rock related blogs and this is what I was looking for. Of course, it’s not a perfect record, we’ve made some mistakes (mainly because we had to record it in, probably, 1 hour and a half, due to some technical problems) but we like this EP and this won’t be the last time we’ll release a live record; you can wait for more.

8. Your lyrics deal with inner conflict and social criticism. How important is it for you that listeners interpret these themes personally? With that I mean that your work has a heart, has a soul, has a meaning.

It is VERY important for us. As I said, I’m a punk/hardcore guy and in this community we’re very clear in our messages. But I also know Sense May is not exactly a punk band, so people may come “just for the sound” and not know what we’re talking about, that’s when I stop and say: hey, read the lyrics! Yes, we have an introspective vibe, and we like the emo tag, but we’re not only talking about broken hearts and love relationships – not even mainstream emo bands were always talking about it. We’re talking about hard times in our lives as working people, as people who are misfits and outsiders, so be aware that we’ll talk about social issues. We won’t be propagandists as a band – and we have absolutely nothing against bands which are, they’re very necessary and important –, but we’ll poke the open wounds.

9. Do you feel the Portuguese and Brazilian alternative Rock scenes are open to hybrid projects like yours? The Portuguese alternative scene is quite diversified; however, I was not aware that there were bands aligned with the 00ies Emo and Post-Grunge scene… my fault, of course.

That’s a sensible topic, I believe. From the Brazilian side I can say we’re very open to this setup – we’re very curious and love to see any Brazilian reference anywhere. For the Portuguese side I can’t say a lot, I’ve been living in this country for 8 years now and I’ve seen a lot of Brazilians playing music in different projects but, at least for me, in the alternative community we’re still mostly in the crowd. You can go to pop punk or melodic punk concerts in Lisbon and wait for a huge Brazilian community there – I was at Blink 182’s concert in Lisbon in 2023 and Mark said something like “I don’t know why but I see a lot of Brazilian flags here, kudos to you guys”. Yeah, let me tell you why, Mark, haha.

Obviously, locals are the majority of the scene and that’s just the logic. I know there were some Portuguese 00s pop punk and emo bands back then, melodic punk bands as well, but it’s really a small niche when compared even to our neighbours in Spain. I only know a few “post grunge” bands in Portugal so this would be even a smaller niche.

I believe there’s of course space for immigrant projects, but we’ll always have less contacts, social capital, even less friends sometimes and some people won’t even try to do more than that because we can always feel not welcomed for many reasons. But I’m not throwing any shade to anyone, I believe most of us want to build things together, this is the ethos of most alternative communities.

10. What about newer – and even older – bands that you consider deserve more exposure? Do you let yourself be influenced by newer bands the way we are influenced by the older, more pivotal, ones?

As I’ve said before, I’m way more into modern grunge bands than old ones, but there are some awesome alternative (not grunge) 90s bands that are huge for us: Seaweed, Jawbreaker, Samiam, Sunny Day Real Estate, Mineral. They’re “huge” for the niche, definitely, but should get more love from everybody.

The modern bands, I already told you: Basement is the way. But I can give you more: Balance and Composure, Gouge Away, Drug Church and Title Fight – I can’t forget these ones. All these bands are constant influences for us.

11. What’s next for Sense May? Are you planning a full-length album, exploring a new musical direction, setting up for a national tour, a European tour or just a gig around these parts?

We’re recording our third EP as of now and its release is scheduled for somewhere between April and May. I talked a lot about these modern bands because I believe now we’re going more into their way, to sound a little bit more modern, without losing the connection with the 90s vibe. We’ll keep wearing flannels, LOL We have some dates in the north for April and May, and we’re planning a small trip as well. We want to spread the word, so we’re looking for any opportunity: book us!

12. Would you like to risk a prediction on how 2026 will treat us all, as a Society, considering the harsh times we talked about in the beginning? Let me wrap this up by thanking you for your time and availability. Hope 2026 brings you the best of luck and hope I get to see you and Spiritual Deacy rocking the Ericeira sun!

We’re already living in harsh times and for now I can’t say things are going to get better just because I want to be positive. I’m pretty much sure things won’t get better right now! But we’re here to express ourselves during these hard times and maybe, who knows, encourage people to join us and organize their rage and be part of a community that questions why things are the way they are now – and blame the right culprits, not minorities!

We also hope to play a lot alongside Spiritual Decay and pay you a visit soon! Thanks for the opportunity!

Beyond the Sound: Sense May’s Vision

Sense May arrives at a moment when alternative Rock is no longer just a ’90s echo or nostalgic revival. They are a voice for a transitional generation, blending intense personal experiences with a sound that fuses melodic aggression and emotional honesty. The band builds bridges between past and present, between Portugal and Brazil, identity and displacement, introspection and social critique.

What makes Sense May compelling isn’t just their music, it’s how they question, narrate, and reveal fragments of life many listeners recognize in themselves. Whether through a contagious riff, a heart-gripping lyric, or a beat that refuses to let anyone sit still, Sense May proves that rock remains alive and ready to reinvent itself.

SENSE MAY OFFICIAL BANDCAMP