![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/American-Football-by-Alexa-Viscius_web.jpg\")
American Football Credit: Alexa Viscius<\/p>\nAmerican Football Credit: Alexa Viscius<\/p>\n
Discord ripples through American Football (LP 4) like the rumbling of distant thunder. The fourth full-length from Illinois emo forebears American Football<\/a>, released by Polyvinyl in May, is their third since reuniting a dozen years ago. Beloved from their brief run during the twilight of emo\u2019s second wave in the late 90s, American Football have had a second, significantly longer life that\u2019s cemented their status as pioneers\u2014none of their original contemporaries played the wistful, melancholy midwest style that\u2019s made the band famous. Their legend has been bolstered by their previous reunion albums, 2016\u2019s LP 2 and 2019\u2019s LP 3, which expand on that delightful, slightly off-kilter sound in thoughtful, sensitive ways\u2014American Football have always been impossible to imitate, and if anything they\u2019ve grown even more distinctive as their aesthetic gets more lived-in.\u00a0<\/p>\n LP 4 is my favorite of American Football\u2019s 21st-century recordings, partly because it feels like a rejection of the style that\u2019s made the band an object of worship for decades. Opener \u201cMan Overboard\u201d 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\u2019s 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\u2019s catalog.<\/p>\n \u00a0American Football <\/strong>Afternoon Bike Ride open. Fri 8\/14, 8 PM, Salt Shed<\/a>, 1357 N. Elston, $52.90\u2013$148.70, all ages<\/p>\n Reader Recommends: CONCERTS<\/p>\n Upcoming shows to have on your radar.<\/p>\n 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<\/p>\n