American Football has been known to perfectly blend the elements of emo and jazz to create a powerful concoction of emotional lyrics and melodies with blistering fast riffs and drum fills. American Football (LP2) is no different, yet it remains fresh, most likely because the last time they put out an album was only a year after I was born. All joking aside, their new album has been commanding all of my attention lately.  

After a band goes 17 years without new music, one can usually assume that they had thrown in the towel. American Football, however, used this long stretch of time to regroup and hone their skills. This paid off as their new self titled is unironically the best album they have put out in 17 years, despite its short length of nine songs.

I’ll be honest though, I never really listened to their ‘99 album or their EP, so this was my first experience with the band and their music. I only knew that this was the first album they have put out in a long time. If the track record stays the same, now is the best time to get into them so I can listen to American Football LP2 until the third one comes out in the year 2033.

The new album boasts only nine songs, but each song has its own special style and story behind it. Each song is like stepping into the singer’s world and experiencing stories and events in his life through his perspective, and it adds a special kind of depth to the album overall that not every band can achieve.

My favorite songs off of the album are “My Instincts are the Enemy” and “Home is Where the Haunt is.” These songs are definitely the magnum opus of the album. While the rest of the songs are just fine, I continue to come back to those two most often. They make the most out of  eclectic and nostalgic feel of the album.   

The most interesting song on the album by far is “I Need a Drink (or Two or Three)” which opens up with an impromptu trumpet ensemble, introducing a crucial jazz element as aforementioned. It adds an air of youth and wonder to the song about drinking your problems away.

The amount of content in the album, however, is what disappoints me. After that long amount of time between their current release and their last one, you would think they would be able to provide with more than nine songs, totaling up to only a 37 minute listen. My standards might be too high, but I was disappointed with how quick of a listening experience their second LP truly is.