If you’re looking for a band that released some of the most iconic albums of all time and then dropped off the face of the Earth for fifteen years, then American Football is the band for you! American Football is an emo indie rock band from Illinois consisting of members Mike Kinsella, Steve Holmes, and Steve Lamos. They met at a young age all attending the same high school together. In 1997, Kinsella and Lamos got their start officially making music by joining a band called The One Up Downstairs which recorded three singles together before an explosive breakup, with Kinsella claiming they “broke up with their fists.” The singles from The One Up Downstairs were shelved until 2006 when they were released to the public. Holmes became an addition to the newly formed “American Football” in 1997. A year later the group released its first EP under the current band name, which is based on a poster saying, “Come see American Football, the most overpaid athletes in the world.”
Its first record and standout album, American Football LP1 was released in 1999 being the only record produced until 2016. American Football was supposed to be a side project, as all of its members were college students, and producing music was something the students did for fun. In 2000, the band mutually decided to end their short but successful run. Although American Football had ended (or so they thought), the band members continued to work on other musical side projects like the band Joan of Arc and Mike Kinsella’s solo act Owen.
In 2014, it was announced there would be a deluxe reissuing of LP1 which included ten unheard demos and live recordings. The band began to tour again with its shows being sold out throughout the United States. During this time, Kinsella’s cousin Nate Kinsella joined the band on bass becoming a permanent member. In 2016, the band released their second album, American Football LP2, whose album cover shares the same house featured in the first album. Three years later, the band released LP3 which featured a single called Uncomfortably Numb featuring Paramore’s Hayley Williams which was the first time the band collaborated with another artist. Two years after LP3 was released, Lamos announced that he was leaving the band due to a situation in his personal life, however, he would rejoin the band in 2023. Last year the house famously photographed in the album covers of the band known as the American Football House was put up for sale. To prevent it from being torn down the band purchased the house turning it into a vacation rental for fans to stay at. The band is still together and currently touring, with its music creating a cult-like following due to its unique style and breakthrough sound.
American Football LP1 ( 1999 ):
While I don’t always believe that the first album is the best, it certainly is the case for American Football whose LP1 gave the band a following to pull them through fifteen years of radio silence. The band has always been unique sounding, and this album is no exception. Falling into the emo genre, the band is a pioneer of the Midwestern-emo music scene, and its use of the math rock genre, one filled with odd-sounding chords and beats defined this album and its career. The record takes heavy inspiration from late ‘80s bands like the Smiths, the Cure, and Elliot Smith. The typically depressing music of the 20th century. The album consists of nine tracks spanning around forty minutes long. What makes this album unique from others that I have covered in the past is the use of instrumentals. This is a band whose music is largely focused on instrumentation, not lyrics or vocals, which to me makes it the perfect study music as something that won’t make you fall asleep like classic, but the music also is not hardcore rock. This album took four days to create with the final recording date set in May of 1999.
The lack of a bass guitar player is another feature that sets American Football apart from other indie bands of the period. The cover is a picture of a home in Illinois now referred to as the American Football House. The band members wanted something that would look the same as the album feels, like a Midwestern sleepy town. The band reissued the album in 2014 and 2024 and released an American Football LP1 cover album where noteworthy artists covered the album in their style. Some of these artists include Blondshell, Ethel Cain, and John McEntire. The songs I’ve chosen for this week I feel reflect the style and the heart of Midwestern indie music.
The Summer Ends:
The “Summer Ends” is a song that I feel is perfect at the end of a coming-of-age teenage movie. The soft guitar strums, light guitar beats, and somber trumpets make the album sound like the end of summer, with those hot August nights when the sun is fading and your neighborhood lights are turning on, lightning bugs dancing over the earth. These are the feelings that are invoked from “The Summer Ends”. The song to me also signifies the end of an era. It’s a song about coming to terms with the past and the reality that we cannot hold onto things forever, similar to youth and childhood, which fade with time. Blondshell’s version of “The Summer Ends” on the cover record features heavier guitar beats and vocals, turning the song into one that you might cry into one that makes you feel like throwing objects around your room. Both versions have their appeal, one more slow and dramatic and the other angry and full of remorse.
For Sure:
Another soft-sounding song, “For Sure’s heavily instrumental, consisting of only six lines of lyrics which are each spread out in the song. The meaning of this song is described as a couple trying to revive a dying relationship which is like heating a cup of coffee that just comes out lukewarm and bitter. While American Football’s “For Sure” is extraordinary in sound, Ethel Cain’s cover for the LP1 cover record produced by American Football is breathtaking. Her soft and airy vocals trump that of Kinsella’s in the original. Cain’s addition of more lyrics and repetition have been defining factors of this song, taking it from its three-minute length to almost ten minutes long. Her version provides a softer and more emotional listen to their original track. Her powerful and iconic voice leaves “For Sure” as a standout on the cover’s album and puts a spotlight on the original track which might be easily skipped over by a casual listener.
The One With The Wurlitzer:
Another soft-sounding song, I will never get over the name. If you are unaware, a Wurlitzer is known more commonly as a pipe organ or electric organ. This song surprisingly features neither of these. “The One With The Wurlitzer” is the final track on the record and being exclusively instrumental, the soft sounds of the trumpet and drums will make you sleepy or in need of a good cry closing out the album in a subtle but emotional way.
American Football, despite its original short run, has become a musical pioneer in the indie genre and has become one of the most influential bands in the ‘90s with many artists attempting to follow its footsteps in the 21st century, it is clear American Football has left it’s print in the music industry.
