American Football’s fourth self-titled album finds the Champaign, Illinois band pushing its familiar guitar interplay into stranger, heavier shapes. Mike Kinsella, Nate Kinsella, Steve Holmes and Steve Lamos still work from the loose, syncopated foundation that made their early records touchstones, but LP4 brings in piano, vibraphone, synths, violin and sharp harmonic turns. “Man Overboard” opens with a knotty drum pattern that feels almost prog, while the eight-minute “Bad Moons” moves from dark humour to a genuinely bruised release. The production by Sonny DiPerri and the band keeps plenty of detail in the frame, from Cory Bracken’s vibraphone to the layered voices around the quartet.
The writing is older, plainer and more exposed than the band’s youthful heartbreak songs. Divorce, addiction, shame and despair appear without much theatrical dressing, though the music often stays inviting, even playful. “Blood On My Blood” gains a familiar ache from Caithlin De Marrais, Brendan Yates adds a striking harmony to “No Feeling,” and Wisp’s Natalie Lu helps “Wake Her Up” lean toward pop. Released through Polyvinyl, LP4 should suit anyone drawn to emo and post-rock with room for dissonance, unusual arrangements and lyrics that have lived a little.
