Review Summary: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
American Football is a band that has always fascinated me. Starting off in 1997, they released their self-titled debut in 1999 to critical acclaim with a twinkly and relaxing blend of mathy midwest emo, post-rock and indie rock before disbanding shortly after in the year 2000. This breakup left fans clamoring for more as it often does when a band puts out a so-called classic album then disappears into oblivion. They returned in 2016 with
American Football (LP2) and this yielded mixed results. The formula was more-or-less the same as the previous album which left lots of people feeling rather empty overall. I personally dig the album well enough, but it did little to separate itself from the debut. Three years after
LP2, they put out
LP3 and that album was more focused on expanding on the post-rock side of their sound with lots of atmospheric buildups and climaxes and gave fans of the band hope for the future. Well finally, after seven long years, American Football has returned with
LP4 and, in my personal opinion, it is their best album to date and even better than the debut.
The emphasis on post-rock is heavier here than it has ever been in American Football's long history and the midwest emo bits are now few and far between which I think is the correct evolution for the band. I love myself some emo just as much as the next person, but there's only so much you can do with that particular sound. Right off the bat with the first track, ‘Man Overboard’, you can tell that this album is going to be an extremely atmospheric journey. The production is sparkly and very clean, giving all elements of the band a chance to shine through. The vocals are humming and subtle yet melodic as subtle riffs creep through behind the loud wall of drum fills. Bells chime in the background, symbols crash down and the riffs bring forth a minimalist approach that really draws the listener into the effervescent atmosphere.
The approach doesn't change and the whole album feels like one long, 50-minute song that lulls you into a trance-inducing state. This type of indie music that focuses more upon building an ambience with lush soundscapes has always struck a chord for me. I could possibly understand how people would get bored by this style of music, but for me, music that emphasizes pure emotion and feeling always wins out and American Football have perfected that sound to a tee on
LP4. ‘No Feeling’ is a track that makes you feel like you're floating with the stars in the darkness of the solar system. ‘Blood On My Blood’ brings back some of the emo feelings of past albums while still retaining the post-rock vibe of the album overall. Tracks like ‘Bad Moon’, ‘Patron Saint of Pale’ and ‘Desdemona’ are the best-of-the-best here, showcasing the band's ability to progress seamlessly throughout longer tracks with huge buildups and melodramatic vocals while still having a darker atmosphere creeping in the background.
This album is everything I want in an indie release. It's emotional, the riffage is faint yet nuanced and the drumming is off-the-wall at times, but rhythmic and shining through all at the same time. American Football was always a band that I've dug, but never truly fell in love with, even with the debut being an emo genre classic.
LP4 has changed all of that and made me go back and be able to appreciate their back catalogue even more. That being said, this album is without a doubt their magnum opus in my opinion and brings all of the feelings and emotions that I hope for when I listen to this type of music. It may have taken quite a while, but American Football has come back with a true classic whether you consider it post-rock, indie, emo or all of the above. Fans of all of those genres should be able to find lots to love about this album, and I'll tell you one thing, it's as addicting as music can be in this day and age.
