American Football

American Football

American Football is an emo, indie rock and math rock group from Urbana, United States. Formed in 1997, it is associated with the midwest emo scene and remains active.

Formation and early line-up

The band forms around guitarist, bassist and vocalist Mike Kinsella, guitarist Steve Holmes and drummer and trumpet player Steve Lamos. Kinsella has previously played in Cap'n Jazz and Joan of Arc and also performs as Owen. Holmes meets Kinsella while they are both at Wheeling High School in Wheeling, Illinois; Holmes plays guitar in local bands and is a former roommate of Kinsella. Lamos has played in several other groups, including The One Up Downstairs and Edward Burch & The Staunch Characters, and is also associated with DMS.

Before American Football, Kinsella and Lamos play with David Johnson and Allen Johnson under the name The One Up Downstairs. That group records three songs intended for a Polyvinyl Records 7-inch, but disbands before the release is completed. The recordings are later issued in digital form and then as a 7-inch. David Johnson and Allen Johnson later form Very Secretary, which becomes Favorite Saints.

First recordings and initial split

American Football release a self-titled EP in 1998 and a self-titled debut album in 1999 on Polyvinyl Records. The EP does not feature bass guitar, while Kinsella plays bass on some tracks on the album and Lamos adds an extra bass part on one song. The band’s sound develops partly as a reaction against the loud post-hardcore music they have grown up with, with influences including Red House Painters and Nick Drake, and an emphasis on quieter, more minimal songs.

The debut album becomes one of the most critically acclaimed emo and math rock releases of its era and develops a cult following. Within a year of its release, the group stops active collaboration and becomes mainly a studio project before disbanding.

Reunion and later work

In 2014, Polyvinyl Records announces a deluxe reissue of the debut album, with unreleased demos and live recordings. Reunion shows in Champaign and New York follow and sell out. Nate Kinsella, Mike Kinsella’s cousin, joins on bass for these performances and remains a permanent member.

After reforming, American Football tours internationally, with dates in the United States, Canada, Spain, the United Kingdom, Japan and Australia. In 2016, the band releases a second self-titled album, preceded by the single “I’ve Been So Lost for So Long”. The artwork uses an interior photograph of the same house shown on the debut cover.

American Football House and later releases

The house from the debut album cover becomes closely associated with the band and with midwest emo more broadly, attracting visitors to Urbana. The third self-titled album appears in 2019 and is preceded by the singles “Silhouettes” and “Uncomfortably Numb”, the latter featuring Hayley Williams of Paramore, which is the band’s first collaboration with a guest vocalist.

Lamos leaves the band in 2021, then returns in 2023 after the group is announced as the opening act for The 1975 at Finsbury Park in London. In the same year, the band buys the house featured on the debut cover to help prevent its demolition and plays its first public show since 2019 in Chicago.

In 2026, American Football announce a fourth self-titled album on Polyvinyl Records and continue as an active group.