American Football is one of the most prolific midwest emo bands hailing from Urbana, Illinois comprised of guitarist Steve Holmes, drummer/trumpeter Steve Lamos, bassist Nate Kinsella & the latter’s cousin/frontman Mike. Exploding in 1999 off their eponymous full-length debut, they would make a moderate comeback in 2016 in the form of a sophomore effort although their previous album back in 2019 has been widely considered by many including myself to be right behind their debut. 7 years later, they’re starting off the month of May returning for their 4th studio LP.
“Man Overboard” begins by singing about feeling hopeless & Mike comparing himself to anchor being cut loose pondering life without this person he misses whereas the 2nd & final single “No Feeling” featuring Brendan Yates fuses post-rock, indie rock, slowcore & dream pop to ponder suicide. “Blood on My Blood” featuring Caithlin de Marrais sings about the story of Mike’s existence being a murder mystery until “Bad Moons” combines post-rock, indie rock, dream pop, slowcore, midwest emo & ambient pop for an exciting lead single.
After the compositional “One with the Piano” intermission, “Patron Saint of Pale” starts the 2nd half looking to settle an issue by playing rochambeau while “Wake Her Up” featuring Wisp sings about a boy who fell in love with the girl at the bottom of the River Seine. “Desdemona” takes inspiration from tragic heroine who appeared in the Shakespearean play Othello & after the “Lullabye” instrumental piece builds itself upon a vibraphone & guitar, “No Soul to Save” ends with Mike likening himself to a magician making himself disappear.
It’s often a very special occasion when these guys put out new music because they don’t do it very often & the indication of LP4 becoming some of American Football’s darkest material becomes a reality almost 3 decades since their self-titled debut, landing right behind the latter for the 2nd best entry in the band’s discography. There’s more of a focus on the quartet’s indie/post-rock elements production-wise compared to than LP3 although we’re still getting whiffs of midwest emo, slowcore, math rock, shoegaze, dream pop & ambient pop tackling grim subjects including suicidal thoughts, shame, divorce, addiction, self-hatred & rebirth.
Score: 4.5/5
Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!
Legends Will Never Die 