American Football - American Football Deluxe 2LP Vinyl RED Record

The only album the Illinois trio made before breaking up, recorded in 1999 and quietly passed hand to hand ever since. Mike Kinsella, Steve Holmes and Steve Lamos built something out of odd time signatures, clean interlocking guitars and a lone trumpet that has never really been matched, and Never Meant remains one of the most recognizable opening riffs in American indie rock.

What keeps drawing new listeners in is how unguarded it sounds. The playing is intricate but never showy, the singing is closer to thinking out loud, and songs like Honestly? and Stay Home sit in the exact space between a summer ending and nobody wanting to say so. It has become a touchstone for two generations of emo and math rock bands, and it turns up regularly on decade and all-time lists.

This deluxe 2LP on red vinyl adds a full second record of 1997 live recordings from the Blind Pig in Champaign, boombox practice sessions and 4-track album prep versions.

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

Side C
1. Intro [Live at the Blind Pig, Champaign, IL, 1997]
2. Five Silent Miles [Live at the Blind Pig, Champaign, IL, 1997]
3. Untitled #1 (The One With The Trumpet) [Boombox Practice Session, 1998]
4. Untitled #2 [Boombox Practice Session, 1998]
5. Stay Home [Boombox Practice Session, 1998]
6. Untitled #3 [Boombox Practice Session, 1999]

Side D
1. Never Meant [4-Track Album Prep, 1999]
2. But The Regrets Are Killing Me [4-Track Album Prep, 1999]
3. I'll See You When We're Both Not So Emotional [4-Track Album Prep, 1999]
4. The 7's [Live at the Blind Pig, Champaign, IL, 1997]