American Football

What a record. The riff in Never Meant is iconic for good reason, but the whole album holds up beautifully. The Summer Ends is gorgeous, You Know I Should Be Leaving Soon hits just right, and the closer wraps it all up perfectly. Peak emo done with real musicianship — the interplay between the guitars and that trumpet is something else. An absolute classic.

The classic emo album, already within my rotation, deserves to be on the orginal list.

This album was a real surprise. The first reason the fact I never heard of it (or the band). The second reason is that this album is supposed to be emo, not my favorite genre. When listening to it, it was something completely different. Especially the slow tracks almost without vocals and with great saxophone playing. These tracks mix in a good way with the indie rock tracks. It was a interesting experience and I will listen to it in the future for a fourth spin.

If you asked people in the early 2000s, the second wave of emo belonged to bands like Cap'n Jazz and Sunny Day Real Estate. These were the bands that harnessed the potential of the fully-realized post-hardcore sound from bands like Fugazi and Jawbox. While occasionally dipping into more technical songwriting reminiscent of math rock, this style of emo, which was later dubbed Midwest Emo, had rounded the edges of the first wave's hardcore roots in favor of something that more so resembled indie rock. Of course, the emo of the 2000s would diverge into either a pop sound (such as My Chemical Romance and Jimmy Eat World) or Scene's own brand of screamo (such as Pierce the Veil and The Used), and the dorky midwest emo would fall to the wayside. Until the 2010s, when an emo revival (making this the fourth wave) revisited its midwest emo roots to bring back those elements of post-hardcore and indie rock that was sorely missed (or misused) during the 2000s. However, this time the movement would revisit an album that was sorely overlooked when it first debuted: American Football's first self-titled album. Unlike many of their contemporaries, American Football leaned heavily into a "twinkly" guitar sound that lent itself well to the intricate math rock-infused riffs that characterized much of the band's sound. Combined with slower introspective moments that would employ a lonely trumpet for added emphasis, American Football stood out in ways that would not be appreciated until a good decade after the album's release. It's a nice album for those looking to bath in the melancholy. It's not a crushing, depressive kind of melancholy, but a mellow one that might leave you yearning for better days. It is no wonder, then that this album has emotionally resonated with so many young people working through transitory phases of their lives. It's tender production and carefully-crafted songs are bound to connect with anyone who might be Going Through It, even just a little. This record has a trio in perfect lockstep with one another, playing songs as though they were destined to be played one way or another. Perhaps gen x wasn't ready for this, but the millennials were. While the band parted ways in 2000, the renewed interest in this album would play a key factor in American Football reforming in 2014. The time seemed right to bring it all back around for a crowd that was eager and willing to hear what the old guard had in store. Emo, for better or worse, was here to stay. The house on the cover has since become an icon to emo fans everywhere, with some dedicated enough to make pilgrimage to it's address at 704 W. High St in Urbana, Illinois. Creatively dubbed the "American Football House," it was originally host to college parties and DIY house shows. It has since been purchased in part by Polyvinyl Records (original distributors of the album) and is apparently available as a short-term rental on airBNB. Weird. Regardless, American Football's legacy has been cemented in these little ways. Internet denizens, in particular, have taken a real shine to it. Memes, tribute albums, and meme tribute albums have also garnered American Football a certain amount of cultural currency in the years since it's reappraisal. To that end, the band has become something of legends for music nerds. CONTENDER FOR THE LIST: You betcha.

Interesting mellow emo. Surprised I hadn't heard of them before. Good stuff.

I have been meaning to check these folks out, so I appreciate them appearing on the user list. I've listened to some of the other projects the band members are involved with, I think. This is midwest emo, right? A genre I haven't explored much. Yeah, ok, I certainly dig the music. Has a mathy post-rocky flavor - reminds me of The Six Parts Seven with added vocals. The vocals themselves are fine, I guess? Slacker indie vibes. Definitely need to give this more spins. Fave tracks - uh, let's say "Honestly?" and "I'll See You When We're Both Not So Emotional" for now, with more listens likely to provide an update...

Neverrrrmeanttttt

A landmark in emo and math-rock history, and an LP that should 100% be included in a later version of the official 1001. Anyone on the indie scene knows the iconic house and the warm yet angular tracks it contains. I’ve always been astounded by the guitar parts here, but all the instrumentals are layered and complex - watch a breakdown on the ‘Never Meant’ drums if you’re interested. Even with some crazy time signatures, the band more than evokes the quiet comfort mixed with yearning of living in a small town. I may not have grown up in the Midwest, but that feeling holds no matter the region. Great add to the list and a massive oversight it’s not on the full 1001.

Midwest emo - chef's kiss

1 2 3 4 5 6 | 1 2 3 4 5 6 F - - - - G - - | - A - - - G - - This up here is the main riff of *American Football*'s opener "Never Meant". The 1-6 numbers are the beats of the 6/8 time signature. And the letters under are where the low guitar notes (serving as a bassline) fall in the two bars. Notice how the second note (G) is a half-beat late compared to the fourth beat in the first 6/8 (or 3/4) grouping, and how being late again in the second grouping, the third note (A) ends up falling on the second beat. Then, there are only two beats left for the last descending G note, before the cycle starts again. I thought I would go crazy trying to parse that one out, ha ha. Love or hate American Football, math-rock nerdiness can instantly intensify by the first seconds of their debut. And this is just one three-note bass riff in a single song I'm talking about here. Now try to imagine what can go on with the other guitar or the drums -- not only in this opener, but everywhere else in the album. Of course, simply tagging this debut as "math-rock" misses the mark somehow. Most time signatures in it are actually not that complicated, and a lot of listeners would rather consider the album as Slint-inspired "post-rock", or part of the second wave of "emo-rock" -- probably because of its straightforward lyrics dealing with teenage / young adult love issues (which singer/ guitarist Mike Kinsella once retrospectively labelled as "corny"). The "feel" of this record distinctively evokes a young person's life in a Midwestern campus, in keeping with the LP's artwork -- that iconic photo of that old house in a student neighborhood adjacent to the Champaign-Urbana University of Illinois campus. I lived in Bloomington, Indiana for a year as a foreign student at Indiana University -- not so far from that other Midwestern campus -- and I can picture those sorts of surroundings quite well. The members of the band never lived in that house in the picture, but I've read that they went to basement shows there, and it's not so difficult imagining their daily lives in that part of the world at the time: classes in the morning or the afternoon (including maths classes? -- hence the math-rock influences? 😉), exams, band rehearsals, cool gigs in town, wild nights out, complicated love stories, not enough hours of sleep, and a sense that your life just begins -- with all sorts of directions to choose from. Just as in this record, when all sorts of directions are taken, with the whole thing still miraculously coming off as cohesive and elegant in spite of the casual and improvisatory mindset, mostly owing to the decidedly melancholic tone of the compositions. Before his life as a student, and before he played guitar in American Football, Kinsella had already made a name for himself in the emo / post hardcore scene as a very young drummer for Cap'n Jazz. In retrospect, it's kind of hilarious that he only considered American Football as an ephemeral side-project with college buddies, with all his other projects -- either back then or later -- deemed as more important. And ephemeral, American Football's initial trajectory was, with only a handful of shows, along with this album recorded literally days before everyone in the band then went on with their lives. It would take a whole new emo / math-rock scene to rediscover this record and turning it into a cult favorite. It's not so often that a hype for an album happens more than a decade after it was recorded and released. Another good reason to suggest it for this list. I'm not so smitten with the very clean-sounding LPs Kinsella, Homes and Lamos recorded when they reunited after the belated success of their debut (although the lead single "Bad Moons" from their fourth studio album out this year -- on May 1st -- sounds quite promising, in admittedly a very different tonal range). Yet as unconvinced as I am by what the band did post-reunion, generally speaking, I understand why their debut feels so essential for its target audience. Beside the opener, I love "Honestly?" -- especially the hypnotic distorted build-up in the conclusion of the song. The trumpet incursions on "For Sure" and the instrumental closer "The One With A Wurlitzer" bring cinematic undertones to the post-rock fare. The subtle guitar harmonics on the other instrumental -- the otherwise rather lively "I know I Should Be Leaving Soon" -- are moody as fuck. The 4/4 and 5/4 bars on "But the Regrets Are Killing Me" keep things interesting on a rhythmical level. And the record's late centerpiece "I'll See You When We're Both Not So Emotional" is where American Football bring out the most memorable goods: the drums are doing incredible work here, and the guitar tinkling is a thing of wonder. After that, last proper song "Stay Home" unwinds its dreamy 7/4 pattern in yet another six-strings chimes regalia. Pretty sure a lot of folks rediscovered the aptly-named song back in 2020, lol. Maybe the album could have used a couple of extra distorted peaks as exemplified by the "Honestly?" finale to jolt the listener. But the goal of this record is not to "rock". The goal is to daydream about your youth, your loves, and your uncertain future -- just as crickets and other insects chirp and buzz in those trees at the end of the summer, when you're about to leave the campus of your Midwest college to embrace a new life someplace else. Years later, you think about those moments, and you suddenly realize that it was when you were the happiest in your life -- or at least, the freest, even if you didn't feel like it back then. Free and -- ultimately -- happy, that's how this record sounds for me in 2026. It's as if I already knew the album back in 1999. When a record you never listened to in your youth instantly makes you think of it, it's probably that you have a keeper. 4/5 for the purposes of this list dedicated to essential albums. 9/10 for more general purposes (5 + 4) ---- Number of albums from the original list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 465 Albums from the original list I *might* include in mine later on: 288 Albums from the original list I won't include in mine: 336 ---- Number of albums from the users list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 80 (including this one) Albums from the users list I *might* select for mine later on: 100 Albums from the users list I won't select for mine: 204 ---- Émile, tu trouveras ma dernière réponse sous le *Inside* de Bo Burnham

Interesting music from a band I hadn't heard of before. Mostly read to me as somewhat ahead of its time indy rock. Didn't do a ton for me lyrically. But good throughout.

Emo, indie rock, math rock, post-rock. Me inquieta el math rock... pero bueno, ni fu ni fa.

Decent listen… didn’t totally enthrall me but I didn’t mind listening to it.

I thought the emo-genre generally was on the harder side. This was quite different, and I kinda liked it, but not very

You know the last track on an album is one of down tempo and if it’s a really great album it’s kind of like “hey we’re cooling down and landing at the station. What a great album” but on a bad album it just sort of runs out of steam and you forget it AS it’s playing? This is an entire album of last songs

Rating: 6/10

Segt som knäck. Tillför inget till musikhistorien.

Pretty unimaginative and boring 1