Most defined by the house in Urbana, Illinois, that graces the cover of its 1999 debut album — spurring countless memes and a Minecraft recreation — the indie rock trio American Football first grew to cult status through college radio and gradual internet discovery across the 2000s. After going on hiatus during COVID, drummer Steve Lamos drifted away from the band as frontman Mike Kinsella focused on side projects, before eventually reuniting in 2023 to complete the trio with guitarist Steve Holmes. But even after decades of gradual twists and turns, American Football keeps its interior walls intact with its newest record “LP4.”
Not much has changed about the band’s musical foundations on the May release, retaining the twinkling riffs, off-kilter time signatures and meandering atmosphere of its prior projects. In opener “Man Overboard,” sprawling drones and disorienting drum beats from Lamos transition into a hypnotic blend of gritty guitars and gentle hums. In contrast to the band’s past shoegaze and dream pop influences, the winding feel lends a progressive bent to its tried-and-true musical elements.
Explicitly connecting to the band’s earlier work, interlude “The One With The Piano” echoes the outro of “The One With The Wurlitzer” from “LP1.” Where the latter gradually fades out as if capturing summer’s end, “The One With The Piano” focuses on the call-and-response between a solitary horn and faint piano melodies that reflect “LP4’s” darker tone.
Other tracks round out these winding instrumentals in a variety of ways. “No Feeling” melds soft chords with anthemic background vocals from Brendan Yates of Turnstile. “Wake Her Up” flows from a cooing hook from Wisp’s into a buzzing electric guitar solo and a somber two-minute outro. Meanwhile, “Blood On My Blood” intertwines Caithlin De Marrais’ airy vocals with lively staccato melodies that add a surprising element of levity throughout the track.
“Patron Saint of Pale” uses steadier bass plucks to anchor its more playful sounds, including almost discordant piano keys, repeated claps and children’s choir-like vocals. In it, Kinsella’s narration of a messy divorce is balanced by a healthy dose of gallows humor. His jaunty delivery of “Fuck it, let’s play Rochambeau / one, two, three, throw,” is awkward at first, but swiftly juxtaposed as he forlornly sings “If you win I’ll never ask to play again / I’ll come home like nothing ever happened.” In deftly walking this emotional and musical tightrope, “LP4” sees American Football developing its style in an equally expansive yet intricate direction.
Much of the album’s lyrics capture undertones of longing and guilt while concealing despondency and self-hatred. Although this results in some borderline-awkward moments with lines like “Fuck you, I already said I’m sorry” from Kinsella’s tender voice or lampshading the on-the-nose wordplay of “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” his lyrics are confessional to the point of discomfort — or at least to a point where his sincerity is undeniable.
His discarding and drawing of identities comes to a head on closer “No Soul To Save,” where he assumes the voice of a magician ascending to heaven: “You’ve watched me walk through fire / Swallow swords and ugly desires / I’ve nothing left to fear / Now for my next trick, / You can watch me disappear.” Even on a song that ends on Kinsella’s dour declaration of “I’m not afraid / I’ve no faith / and no soul to save,” its descending arpeggios are joined by ethereal vocals as their melodies soar in its final minutes, as if the song’s undercurrents of resignation give way to a feeling of relief — either in death or rebirth.
At the end of American Football’s second album in 2016, Kinsella sang “the best way to describe the ocean to a blind man is to push him in.” A decade later, American Football has found itself in that very position, drifting into uncharted shores in search of sanctuary. Even if that feeling of relief feels less clear than any of its prior music, there’s still a palpable feeling that it’s never out of reach.
Contact Kaleo Zhu at [email protected].