Released: 2016

Genres: Midwest Emo, Math Rock, Indie Rock

The Musiquarium’s American Football (LP2) Review Score: 7.5 out of 10

After releasing their acclaimed self-titled debut album in 1999, American Football would disband only a few years later, with Mike Kinsella forming Owen and Steve Lamos going on to become a professor. Fast forward 15 years and the band is back together, with Mike Kinsella’s cousin Nate Kinsella joining the band as bassist.

On the opener, Where Are We Now?, Mike Kinsella finds himself a decade and a half older, but no less depressed and hopeless than he was in ’99 — in fact, it seems that time hasn’t healed his wounds at all.. Among the beautiful guitar bends and harmonics of My Instincts Are the Enemy, lies a self-saboteur. If others see the past through rose-tinted glasses, the glasses in Home Is Where the Haunt Is are scratched and cracked, showing only a grey, blurry haze. The bass lines of Born to Lose provide the song with a sense of hope, even if the narrator has lost all of his. The alcoholic anthem I Need a Drink (or Two or Three) finds a middle-aged Mike Kinsella battling demons far worse than just heartbreak.

One criticism that can be said, is that LP2 is quite similar to its predecessor, even going as far as featuring the interior of the same house from their debut on the cover, but that also creates a continuity and a sense of lore for the band. It may never have had a chance at topping its predecessor or its influence, but American Football (LP2) is still a fantastic sequel that sounds like no time has passed since their debut, with the band still playing their math rock rhythms in perfect harmony.

For credit breakdowns and historic release details, view American Football on Discogs.

Back to the master 2016 Album Reviews Guide or the American Football Reviews page.

Written by Brett Nippard