Quietly Released: American Football

AMERICAN FOOTBALL: SELF-TITLED

SCORE:91/100 - 9.1

Built on unusual time signatures and a style that is entirely unrivaled by other bands, 'American Football' is an album that is massively ahead of its time while being all parts flair and uniqueness that sets it entirely apart from other albums. It's Midwest Emo before Midwest Emo was a thing - and it mixes and matches slower and more distressed soundscapes to make for one of the most emotionally and musically challenging albums of all time.

'American Football' isn't the jocky spectacle that the title would try and convince you it is - in fact, not at all. It's sincere, quiet, but still striking enough to show off something that no other band possesses. It's autumn-esque and refreshing while feeling like those dark, cold nights - but it isn't all sadness, it's something bittersweet, something loving that makes you cling to those good, lasting memories even harder, something that makes you feel like every slice of light is something to use as a crutch. 

It isn't the cold, white slow sadness, it's the warm, dull, and dark bittersweetness that keeps this album together and makes everything whole again when the aches start to settle and the world around you starts to crumble to bits. They're grunge without the grime, and they're punk without all of the aggression. They're something in the middle - not quite entirely emo, but emo before emo had boomed into something much bigger in the 2000's and the 2010's. It's slowcore without anything dull - and it's an album that feels like an absolute must at every turn. 

The album is all parts unique, and everything here comes together strikingly well. It's a gorgeous piece with some of the most truly stunning compositions you can imagine, and every song is unique while still piecing together an album that feels complete and whole in its sequencing and every ounce of consistency it can possibly carry.