American Football
emo
indie
indie rock
math rock
midwest emo
The lead track off of their first album, “Never Meant” immediately throws the listener into the emo/math rock/post-rock sound for which American Football is known.
Played in 6/4 time, the song is about trying to justify a failed relationship. It’s easy to be in love, but what do you do after it falls out? Suppressing all the memories and emotions and hiding them away – that’s what lead singer Mike Kinsella deals with here.
Steve Lamos, from 'Never Meant: The Complete Oral History of American Football', said: Read more on Last.fm.
American Football is an American Midwest Emo band from Urbana, Illinois, originally active from 1997 to 2000.
The band was formed by guitarist and singer Mike Kinsella (formerly of Cap'n Jazz, The One Up Downstairs, Joan of Arc, Owls and currently of Owen) and drummer Steve Lamos (formerly of The One Up Downstairs and currently of The Geese), and also included guitar player Steve Holmes.
The band had few live performances and disbanded less than a year after releasing their self-titled album; still, they gained critical acclaim for that album, which merged the plain-spoken, confessional lyrics and melancholic/bittersweet arpeggios of Midwest Emo with the varying time signatures of Math Rock and the atmosphere of Post-Rock, providing a softer musical sensibility.
Mike Kinsella explained the band's name thus: "My girlfriend had been in Dublin, Ireland visiting her family. One of the things she brought home for me was a flyer for a Chicago Bears exhibition game that said: "Come see American Football, featuring the most overpaid athletes in the world." Something about that statement made me think of rock bands, most of whom are the most overpaid musicians in the world. When I suggested it as a name, the other guys thought it was dumb. Still, for whatever reason, we kept it".
The band regrouped in 2014 for two shows to promote the re-issue of their self-titled album. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
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