American Football

In the late 1990s American Football issued both an EP and a self-titled album that drew scant notice upon arrival, yet the trio’s spare, emotionally charged sound later solidified as a defining emo reference point. Their reputation swelled, and the fervent support that greeted a 2014 string of reunion concerts encouraged the musicians to treat the return as an ongoing project. Subsequent releases from the second half of the decade preserved the character of the earlier recordings while reflecting accumulated experience and introducing sonic experimentation on 2019’s LP3.

The group assembled in 1997 while its members—vocalist/bassist/guitarist Mike Kinsella, guitarist Steve Holmes, and drummer/trumpet player Steve Lamos—attended the University of Illinois. Kinsella had previously played drums in the frantic emocore band Cap’n Jazz and the darker, melodic post-rock outfit Joan of Arc; he and Lamos had also belonged to the One Up Downstairs. After that band ended, Lamos and Holmes began working together, then invited Kinsella to join them in shaping songs and a distinctive approach. The three spent nearly a year developing a clean, melodic style that fused emo’s intimacy with jazz’s spaciousness, layering in pop hooks and interlocking guitar lines.

American Football tracked a three-song self-titled EP in 1998, which Polyvinyl issued that October. After several Midwest dates the musicians entered the studio with producer Brendan Gamble to complete a full-length, finishing tracks—some only partially written—in rapid succession. Unlike the bass-less EP, the album featured Kinsella on bass for several songs, Holmes on keyboards, and Lamos on trumpet. Recording wrapped in four days once the school term concluded, after which two members returned home. Polyvinyl released American Football in September 1999. The trio reconvened for a handful of shows, including dates in New York City, before parting ways shortly afterward.

While Holmes and Lamos largely stepped away from music, Kinsella continued as the solo artist Owen, resumed drumming with Joan of Arc, formed Their / They’re / There, and collaborated with his brother Tim in Owls. Meanwhile American Football’s stature rose as successive waves of listeners discovered the catalog. Polyvinyl pressed the debut LP on vinyl in 2004, and streaming later amplified its reach. Although the band had not previously leveraged its influence through reunion activity, a 2014 expanded reissue on Polyvinyl—augmented by a second disc of demos and rarities—prompted an immediate website crash upon announcement. Sell-out reunion shows followed, quickly expanding into a global tour; the experience proved so positive that the musicians, now a foursome after the addition of Mike’s brother Nate on bass, committed to recording again.

Produced by Jason Cupp, American Football (LP2) appeared on Polyvinyl in October 2016, recapturing the atmosphere of the first album while reflecting nearly two decades of intervening life. After another worldwide tour the members exchanged ideas and demos remotely. The resulting material, issued as American Football (LP3) by Polyvinyl and Big Scary Monsters in the U.K. in March 2019, proved more expansive and dreamlike, unfolding over extended melodic arcs and incorporating piano, vibraphone, a children’s choir, and guest vocals from Paramore’s Hayley Williams, Land of Talk’s Elizabeth Powell, and Rachel Goswell of Slowdive. The album earned widespread acclaim and reached number four on Billboard’s indie chart. That December the band mined its archives for the Year One Demos EP, gathering the earliest all-instrumental recordings. Founding member Lamos announced his departure at the close of 2021. His final contributions—“Rare Symmetry” and a cover of Mazzy Star’s “Fade into You” featuring singer Miya Folick—appeared the following year.