American Football (band)

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American Football (Stylised as americ anfootball) is an American Midwest emo band from Urbana, Illinois, originally active from 1997 to 2000. They reformed in 2014.

The band was formed by guitarist, bassist and singer Mike Kinsella (formerly of Cap'n Jazz and Joan of Arc and currently of Owen), guitarist Steve Holmes (also a member of the Geese), and drummer and trumpet player Steve Lamos (formerly of the One Up Downstairs, one-time member of the Firebird Band and Edward Burch & the Staunch Characters, and currently of the Geese and DMS). Lamos left the band in 2021 but rejoined in 2023.

Despite the group's short initial lifespan, their self-titled debut album became one of the most acclaimed emo and math rock records of its era. After reuniting in 2014, with Kinsella's cousin Nate Kinsella joining the band, American Football has released two more albums, both bearing the same name as their debut: American Football / LP2 (2016) and American Football / LP3 (2019).

History

Formation

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". Mike Kinsella and Steve Holmes met at an early age. Both were students at Wheeling High School in Wheeling, Illinois, where Kinsella played drums for Cap'n Jazz; Holmes played guitar in a variety of bands and was Kinsella's roommate.[1][2] Kinsella and Lamos began playing together with David Johnson and Allen Johnson in 1997 under the name "The One Up Downstairs", in which Kinsella was exclusively a vocalist. Three songs were recorded under this name, with the intention of releasing them as a 7" record on Polyvinyl Records. However, the band splintered before the record could be pressed, and the songs were shelved. The three tracks recorded by The One Up Downstairs would finally be released in 2006 as a digital download EP and in 2009 as a 7" record through Polyvinyl.[3] Kinsella claims the group "broke up with their fists".[1]

David Johnson and Allen Johnson went on to form the band Very Secretary[3] (and later Favorite Saints),[4] while Kinsella and Lamos began working with Steve Holmes.

American Football released its self-titled debut EP in 1998 and its self-titled debut album in 1999, both through Polyvinyl Records.[5]

Though the band did not record bass on the EP, Kinsella played bass guitar on some songs for the LP.[6][7]

Within a year of the release of its full-length, American Football became a studio project. Shortly thereafter, the band mutually decided to stop recording together, due to each person beginning to focus on their personal life.[8] Despite the band's breakup, the album received critical acclaim and gained a cult fanbase.[5][7][8] Mike Kinsella's solo project Owen borrows some of the sonic characteristics of American Football, and he would later re-record "Never Meant" as Owen in 2004.[8]

Reformation

In March 2014, Polyvinyl Records announced a deluxe reissue of the band's eponymous debut album, including 10 additional unheard demos and live recordings.[9][10] Live dates, in Champaign and New York, were announced the following month, all of which sold out.[11] For these dates, Mike's cousin Nate Kinsella joined the band on bass – becoming a permanent fixture of the band thereafter.[12] Further tour dates followed in the US, Canada, Spain, UK, Japan, and Australia.[13]

Two years after reforming, the band released their second album. Again eponymous, and again on Polyvinyl, the album was released in October 2016, preceded by the single "I've Been So Lost for So Long", which was made available for streaming through SoundCloud.[14] The album's cover featured the same house photographed on the band's first full-length album, although this time they shot the inside of the house. The American Football House had become a landmark for emo music fans around the world since the first album's release, who would travel to Urbana, Illinois, to take photos outside of the home.[15]

American Football's third album, once again eponymous, was released in March 2019, with the single "Silhouettes" made available upon announcement the preceding December. A second single, "Uncomfortably Numb", followed in January 2019. It featured vocals from Paramore's Hayley Williams, marking the first time the band had implemented a featured artist on a song.[16]

Steve Lamos announced his departure from the band in July 2021, citing a change of situation in his life.[17] A single with the tracks "Rare Symmetry" and "Fade Into You", a Mazzy Star cover, was released in December the same year.[18]

On February 13, 2023, the band were announced as the opener for The 1975's outdoor show at Finsbury Park in London on July 2.[19] Later that day, Lamos confirmed his return to the band via Instagram.[20][21] In May 2023, the band announced that they had purchased the American Football House pictured on the cover of their debut album, in order to save it from being turned into a condominium.[22] The following month, the band played their first public show since December 2019 at Beat Kitchen in Chicago.[23]

Musical style and legacy

American Football is usually described as an emo band.[24][25][26] The band's musical style has been also described as math rock[14][27][28] and post-rock due to the band using uncommon time signatures and guitar tunings in their songs, which is a staple of both genres.[27][24][26] The band has also been variously described as indie rock,[25] dream pop[29] and slowcore.[26]

Talking about the group's sound, Tim Sendra of AllMusic wrote, "The trio spent almost a year coming up with a clean, melodic approach that blended the intimacy of emo with the empty space of jazz, while adding pop hooks and jangling guitar interplay to the mix."[30] In their article about the history of math rock, specialized online magazine Fecking Bahamas described American Football as "a second-wave emo band rooted in unconventional melodic song structures as well as containing elements of math rock and slowcore."[31] John Hill of Loudwire assessed, "[Mike Kinsella's] twinkling, technical guitar work [...] forms the foundation for the group, [along with] his chemistry with guitarist Steve Holmes, and the ways they weave in and out of each other on [tracks such as] “Never Meant” and “I’ll See You When We’re Both Not So Emotional."[32]

Steve Holmes has commented on the band's sound, their influences, and relationship with emo, saying: "With this band, we really did make a conscious shift away from the post-hardcore, emo, whatever sound and scene that we had come out of. Freshman year, I was turned on to a lot of the bands that would influence our sound: Nick Drake, Red House Painters, Elliott Smith, Codeine, the Sea and Cake, The Smiths/Morrissey, Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine, Can, Steve Reich, etc. Mike always liked the slow, sad, dreamy, pretty stuff and I picked that up from him. Tortoise and post-rock bands like Slint were an influence. Lamos brought in his love of 70s jazz fusion via Weather Report and Miles Davis. I was also big into The Beatles and The Beach Boys and lesser known 60s bands and 90s bands that aped that sound."[33]

American Football is considered one of the most important bands of the late 1990s Midwestern emo scene and subgenre.[34][35][36] Numerous bands and artists have attempted to emulate the sound of the band's debut album since its release. Ian Cohen of Pitchfork wrote, "After the bursting of the Myspace bubble, hundreds of bands took Kinsella’s elliptical expressions of hope and heartbreak as unfinished business, rebuilding the genre on a foundation of open-tuned Telecasters, capos, and red and black flannels. Yet, while the sound of American Football is remarkably easy to replicate, its spirit of wistful carpe diem remains forever elusive."[37]

Members

Current members

  • Mike Kinsella – lead vocals, guitar (1997–2000, 2014–present), bass guitar (1997–2000)
  • Steve Holmes – guitar (1997–2000, 2014–present), keyboards (1997–2000)
  • Nate Kinsella – bass guitar, backing vocals, vibraphone (2014–present)
  • Steve Lamos – drums, percussion, trumpet (1997–2000, 2014–2021, 2023–present)

Current touring musicians

  • Mike Garzon – percussion, keyboards, melodica, backing vocals, guitar (2014–present)
  • Cory Bracken – vibraphone, percussion (2016–present)

Former touring musicians[38]

  • Sarah Versprille – backing vocals (2019)
  • Damien Verrett – guitar (2019)

Timeline

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id:Vocals         value:red            legend:Lead_vocals
id:Guitar        value:green        legend:Guitar
id:Keyboards   value:purple     legend:Keyboards
id:Bass            value:blue          legend:Bass_guitar
id:Drums         value:orange     legend:Drums,_percussion,_trumpet
id:Vibes        value:claret        legend:Vibraphone,_backing_vocals
id:lightgrey     value:black  legend:Studio_album
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bar:MK text:"Mike Kinsella"
bar:SH text:"Steve Holmes"
bar:NK text:"Nate Kinsella"
bar:SL text:"Steve Lamos"

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bar:SH from:01/01/1999 till:09/14/2000 color:Keyboards width:3
bar:NK from:08/12/2014 till:end color:Bass
bar:NK from:08/12/2014 till:end color:Vibes width:3
bar:SL from:start till:09/14/2000 color:Drums
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bar:SL from:02/12/2023 till:end   color:Drums

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 at: 03/22/2019            color:black        width:2            # perpendicular to time axis full length

</timeline>

Discography

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References

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  29. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
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  32. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  33. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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External links

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