American Football Credit: Alexa Viscius
Discord ripples through American Football (LP 4) like the rumbling of distant thunder. The fourth full-length from Illinois emo forebears American Football, released by Polyvinyl in May, is their third since reuniting a dozen years ago. Beloved from their brief run during the twilight of emo’s second wave in the late 90s, American Football have had a second, significantly longer life that’s cemented their status as pioneers—none of their original contemporaries played the wistful, melancholy midwest style that’s made the band famous. Their legend has been bolstered by their previous reunion albums, 2016’s LP 2 and 2019’s LP 3, which expand on that delightful, slightly off-kilter sound in thoughtful, sensitive ways—American Football have always been impossible to imitate, and if anything they’ve grown even more distinctive as their aesthetic gets more lived-in.
LP 4 is my favorite of American Football’s 21st-century recordings, partly because it feels like a rejection of the style that’s made the band an object of worship for decades. Opener “Man Overboard” makes this explicit, with a murkier, louder, more jagged sound. Dulcet loops of guitar corkscrew against crashing, stumbling rhythms, as though drummer Steve Lamos is falling down a flight of stairs. Because this is an American Football song, though, they make the high-wire act of holding it together sound rather lovely. LP 4 balances brooding weariness (embodied in Mike Kinsella’s sullen, yearning vocals) against an unerring impulse to create solace in the face of an indifferent world. This results in some of the biggest and most rewarding swings in American Football’s catalog.
American Football Afternoon Bike Ride open. Fri 8/14, 8 PM, Salt Shed, 1357 N. Elston, $52.90–$148.70, all ages
Reader Recommends: CONCERTS
Upcoming shows to have on your radar.
Leor Galil (he/him) is a senior writer for the Chicago Reader, which has published his work since 2010. His writing has appeared in Pitchfork, the Washington Post, The A.V. Club, Forbes.com, and many publications that have since gone defunct; he’s also written liner notes for archival reissues released by Numero Group and Joyful Noise Recordings. He’s currently working on a book about John Carpenter’s Halloween score for Bloomsbury’s 33 1/3 series. lgalil@chicagoreader.com