American Football - American Football - Clear with Blue Smoke Color Vinyl

Champaign, Illinois, 1999. Mike Kinsella (Owen, Joan Of Arc), Steve Holmes and Steve Lamos had one EP behind them, barely toured, and cut nine songs at Private Studios with Brendan Gamble of Braid. Then they broke up. That record has outlived almost everything released alongside it.

Cleanly picked guitars locking into odd meters, drumming that pushes and pulls without ever showing off, a trumpet drifting in, and Kinsella singing like he is working something out mid-sentence. Never Meant opens with a riff two generations of bands have tried to answer. The Summer Ends and Stay Home hold the mood the album is named for even though nobody says it out loud.

The photos and layout marked the first Polyvinyl design by Chris Strong, and the house on the cover became a landmark in its own right. This pressing comes on clear with blue smoke color vinyl.

Side A
1. Never Meant
2. The Summer Ends
3. Honestly?
4. For Sure
5. You Know I Should Be Leaving Soon

Side B
1. But The Regrets Are Killing Me
2. I'll See You When We're Both Not So Emotional
3. Stay Home
4. The One With The Wurlitzer