Leading up to the anticipated release of their fourth LP, the Midwest emo band American Football released their debut single, “Bad Moons” on Feb. 25. In a triumphant return after a seven-year hiatus, the band has gave us their longest work yet.
Growing pains and guitar strains
In an eight-minute track, the band journeys far from their bread-and-butter math-rock riffs. The band enters with dulcet tunes, a strummed harp, familiar melodic guitar leads, before foraying into post-rock. With string swells and a screaming, tremolo-picked guitar, they end with a crescendo that Explosions in the Sky would be proud of.
Mike Kinsella’s familiar, melancholic songwriting shines in what might be the most vulnerable and confessional song in their discography. It really makes me wonder if these guys will ever not be depressed. The song was born of two demos, one playful and one brooding.
Kinsella begins the song from a child’s perspective, afraid of growing up and living only for the night. And then, “surprise.” Time doesn’t wait for you to feel ready. Kinsella is an adult and is left reflecting on the life he’s lived in the dark, and the precious time that he’s wasted.
In the climax of the song, Kinsella confesses that in this night, he found vices and shame, slit his wrists, and welcomed death. It’s jarring to hear this lament on aging come from a voice that has sounded youthful for my entire life.
Some lyrics do fall flat, namely the chorus “Under bad moons, I’m a bad bone, I’ve got some bad news, I only feel alive when I’m alone.” But it’s carried with such sincerity that it’s hard to critique.
Visual storytelling
The band accompanies this track with a surreal music video that follows the friendships and rebellions of a group of teenage boys. Interspliced between are grayscale shots of the snowy Quebec countryside, and strangely, Burger King foot lettuce?
Towards the latter half of the video, the world is colored in. Nostalgic imagery is replaced with videos of much more contemporary hooligans. Corresponding to their reflection on aging, it really seems like American Football has become the old men yelling at you to get off their lawn, and they’re keenly aware. Or maybe they’ve just become old heads.
Their cover art is similarly evocative. The Urbana house that graced their first two LPs is long gone. Rather, the band finds themselves under an infernal, blood-soaked sky. What does this suggest for the rest of the album? Your guess is as good as mine.
A taste for what’s to come
But if the rest of their LP comes anywhere close to matching this catharsis and vulnerability, it’ll surely be a real kick in the head for my mental health. It’s challenging to set expectations. Since their third LP release in 2019, the members have dispersed far and wide into new genres and projects. They clearly have plenty of tricks up their sleeves, and I’m on the edge of my seat waiting.
American Football (LP4) is set to release on May 1, and you can catch them at Kilby Block Party on May 17. They’ll be on the road until August, with a portion of their proceeds going towards Anti-ICE charities. And for the impatient, “Bad Moons” is available to stream or purchase now.