- In 1999, a band from a small college town in Illinois called American Football released their debut, self-titled album then promptly broke up. The album, with its hushed dynamic and noodly guitar interplay, redefined the style of music that had come to be known as emo. Yet the band remained enigmatic even as the album took on legendary status.
That's changed in the last few years, as American Football first reunited for some shows in 2015, then two years ago surprised fans with a second album. Now they are back again. The new album, like the last two, is self-titled, though in a new development the artwork is not photos of the Illinois house that has become a site of emo pilgrimage.
The danger with playing emo music as you get older is that as you develop a more nuanced worldview, you tend to have less of the intense emotions that inspired your music. Fortunately American Football were never the most melodramatic of emo bands, so they can age a little more gracefully. The album does grapple with this, however, as lyrics like "I blamed my father in my youth, now as a father I blame the booze" indicate.
Certainly emo has come to mean something different now to what it did two decades ago, but this album doesn't really fit into any definition of the style. Its reference points are many. With the opening chimes and drones you might think you're listening to an ambient record. They soon give way to building layers of sound that recall postrock. Traces of shoegaze and electronic music can be glimpsed in the slow, repetitive sounds.
A song that seems symbolic of the difference between this and that debut album is Uncomfortably Numb. For a few reasons. One being the Pink Floyd reference, showing that whatever their roots, this is a long way from punk music. Another is the presence of Hayley Williams of pop punk superstars Paramore (one of a few female singers who guest on the album). These are no longer anonymous emos playing house shows in a nondescript midwestern city. Also, as the title hints at, this is -maybe surprisingly- an album without much feeling.The sparse spidery guitars and frail vocals of that debut album exuded vulnerability, as did the confessional lyrics. Now the sound is lush layers of keyboards and guitars, even a kids choir on one song. The lyrics are a bit more buried now too, just one more instrument in the mix.Having said that, it is a beautiful album. Its lush arrangements and Mike Kinsella's gentle voice make it all easy to listen to.
Maybe there is a message in the evolution of American Football for emo kids everywhere - you won't be this sad for ever, but those melancholy emotions as one part of a palette of feelings can still be used to make something beautiful. Still, nothing ever affects you quite the same as those heightened emotions of youth.
- Andy Paine.