American Football (1999 album)

Before playing for American Football, frontman Mike Kinsella previously played in Chicago-based bands Cap'n Jazz and Joan of Arc alongside his brother Tim, playing drums for both bands. whose line-up consisted of Allen Johnson on bass, Steve Lamos on drums, David Johnson on guitar, and Kinsella himself on vocals. The One Up Downstairs recorded three songs planned for a 7-inch vinyl release by Polyvinyl. The band's name comes from a poster that Lamos' girlfriend had spotted, stating "Come see American football|American [f]ootball, the most overpaid athletes in the world." The first time the group met it was considered to be casual, and the band's "[musical] ideas were noodly and meandering", according to Kinsella. American Football was initially a side project, not intending to become a full-time commitment, as Holmes comments, due to the band "always half-assing things". The first song the group wrote together was the instrumental "Five Silent Miles". which included "Five Silent Miles". The LP was produced by Brendan Gamble; According to Lamos, the song titles were made up a couple of hours "before we finished the artwork." Prior to creating the song titles, songs were referred vaguely as "the B song or the C-sharp song." Kinsella had a journal that he used lyrics from, though they were written "from years before that, so it was just like, 'Yeah, that'll work.'" After writing the lyrics and melodies, Kinsella would "just screech...them out." ==Composition and music==

Musically, LP1 is described as an emo, indie rock, album with elements of jazz. Kinsella used American Football in an attempt to revive the more rock-oriented sound of Joan of Arc's earlier material. Holmes and Kinsella were into punk and hardcore music, while Lamos was into jazz. Each song is in a different tuning. the guitar tracks. Kinsella commented on what became American Football's signature guitar tone: "Now you can buy a shimmer pedal to recreate what we did, but we did it manually and I think it was just dumb luck. By doing it the stupid way, it became our own thing." In addition to their usual instruments, each member provided further instrumentation: Holmes played the Wurlitzer while Lamos played trumpet, and Kinsella played bass. The album was mastered by Jonathan Pines at Private Studios in July 1999. ==Release==

pictured in 2023: contrary to the name, none of the band members lived in it, according to an interview with the Line of Best Fit. The band broke up due to the members no longer living in the same city Kinsella has since stated the band knew when they were recording the album that they were going to break up. The album's cover features a top of a house, with the upstairs light lit. The house, located on 704 W. High St in Urbana, Illinois, is within walking distance of the University of Illinois. Photography was done by Chris Strong and was designed by Strong and Suraiya Nathani. None of the band members lived in the house; according to Kinsella, "it was friends of friends" who lived in the house when they went to college. Writing for the website Nude as the News, Mark Donohue said: "Unfailingly pretty, well-played, and tangibly vulnerable in a way ironically few 'emo' bands ever leave themselves, American Football is an impressive debut album. It could use a few scene breaks to jar the listener out of the endless guitar lull, but taken track-by-track, it's a fine collection of songs." In the 2004 digital edition, Jordan Rogowski of Punknews.org gave the album four and a half stars out of five; he praised its lyricism, describing it as "thoughtfully and intelligently constructed." He believed the lack of Kinsella's vocals "works in its favor", allowing the listener to experience the full instrumentation. == Legacy ==

Despite its initial minor success, LP1, with the help of word of mouth, gained cult status since its release; Polyvinyl co-founder Matt Lundford described the album's subsequent sales figures and influence in the years following its release in a 2019 interview with Noisey as "a constant climb upwards." Lunford recalled LP1 "just kept organically being discovered by people, and then inspiring people and inspiring bands, and then being rediscovered." Stereogum listed "Never Meant" as one of "30 Essential Songs from the Golden Era of Emo" and "The Summer Ends" as one of "30 Essential Post-Rock Songs". NME listed the album as one of "20 Emo Albums That Have Resolutely Stood the Test of Time". Rolling Stone ranked the album at number 6 on their list of the "40 Greatest Emo Albums of All Time"; it was ranked number 5 in a similar list by Kerrang!. "Never Meant" was named the greatest emo song of all time by Vulture. Em Casalena of American Songwriter wrote, "American Football is one of the most heartwrenching breakup albums ever written and produced… and not only in the Midwest emo genre." Ellise Shafer of Variety conferred the title of the "ultimate Midwest emo anthem" on the album's opening track, "Never Meant". In congruence, Kerrang! called the track "one of the defining songs of the genre," and stated that the album as a whole is the one that "everyone seems to have agreed is the pinnacle of emo, despite the fact that you’d probably have to be in the band to name more than four songs from it." Reissues and touring In April 2014, American Football announced they were reuniting for live performances. Holmes said the group realised that "the time was ripe for three middle aged dudes to play some old songs about teenage feelings, and stand around tuning guitars for a long time." Polyvinyl released a deluxe edition of two discs containing various demos and live tracks with expanded packaging on May 20. Demand for the re-release had crashed Polyvinyl's website. Polyvinyl, who first teased a possible release back in 2012, The song was "one of the more interesting things" the band ever wrote, according to Holmes and showcases the band's interest in different time signatures. Directed by Chris Strong, the video was filmed inside and around the house that features on the album cover artwork. The video was set in Urbana, Illinois, around 1999. American Football, with the addition of Kinsella's cousin Nate playing bass, played a surprise show in August in Chicago. In December, a live video was released for "Never Meant", filmed in October at New York's Webster Hall. The band played their first ever UK shows in May 2015. The reissue charted at number 68 on the Billboard 200 chart, A 25th anniversary edition reissue and covers album was released on October 18, 2024, including a separate music cover album. The cover album included bands and solo artists with singles covered by Iron & Wine, Manchester Orchestra, Blondshell, Novo Amor, Lowswimmer, Girl Ultra, John McEntire, M.A.G.S, Yvette Young and Ethel Cain. ==Track listing==

All songs written and composed by American Football. == Personnel ==

Adapted from the liner notes. American Football • Steve Holmes – guitars, keyboards (3), Wurlitzer (9) • Steve Lamos – drums, tambourine (1, 6), shaker (2), trumpet (2, 4, 9) • Mike Kinsella – vocals (1–4, 6–8), guitars (1–6, 8, 9), acoustic guitar (6), bass guitar (4, 7) Technical personnel • Brendan Gamble – recording and production • Chris Strong – photography • Chris Strong, Suraiya Nathani – design ==Charts==