In 1997, three students attending the University of Illinois came together to jam out a couple of music ideas they had. The jam sessions were successful and the students formed a band.
In 1999, said band released their first full-length album.
Just one year later, they broke up.
Now, 25 years later since its first release, American Football’s debut album has reached a status it never meant to.
For many musicians and fans in the Midwest emo, math-rock and the wider indie-music world, American Football has become one of the most important records in these genres.
This is mostly due to how the band was able to mix elements of indie-rock and emo music.
Elements such as clean, melodic guitar and soft yelling vocals are blended with jazz and compositional techniques, giving the album its signature intertwining guitar parts.
This combination of musical elements, along with the experimentation of odd time signatures, alternate guitar tunings, and lyrics that feel like they’re pulled straight from a college student’s diary make American Football an intimate and intricate album worth listening to.
On its surface, there seems like there’s a lot of moving parts, but once dissected, the genius of American Football shines through.
Composition Convenor of the School of Music at the Australian National University, Dr Alexander Hunter, grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois during the late ‘90s and early ‘00s.
He reflects on his own experience during this time.
“At the time, people were starting bands, making our own records with a Tascam 4 recorder, and we used to record other people’s emo and punk projects,” he says.
“There were lots of basement shows and house shows multiple times a week, and a lot of open mics.
“There’s this distinction between these three areas, where one is about the physical energy, and this other more complicated space where people had a space to stretch and utilise their chops, which was music we just kind of listened to.”
It’s the latter where music like American Football could be found.
One of American Football’s characteristics is its experimentation with time signatures.
Dr Hunter says the use of odd time signatures serves as a creative tool.
“It helps break musicians out of patterns they’re used to.
“When you use these kinds of time signatures, less musically literate folks might not know how to count these beat structures.
“They’re not relaxing into something, they’re constantly kind of paying attention and being interested in being present with the music.
“You might listen to just the drum part and won’t where that downbeat is. Tap your foot. I dare you, you know?”
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American Football conveys lots of melancholic, bittersweet and introspective emotions, both through music and lyrics.
Dr Hunter feels that writing happy sounding music is challenging.
“It’s kind of difficult to write something happy that doesn’t sound really twee. It’s a harder emotion to sustain.
“Sad music tends to be more interesting. It’s a space for catharsis and personal reflection.
“It’s not shocking that majority of music that sat in really useful places in people’s lives is a bit sadder than really happy.”
One of the characteristics that’s made American Football popular among musicians is the use of alternate guitar tunings.
These tunings differ from the standard way a guitar is tuned, which challenges how the band plays their guitars.
Dr Hunter explains how alternate tunings bring a different approach to songwriting.
“Maybe you’re focused on a single line, or note, but now you’ve got these auxiliary notes ringing out behind it that forms this pretty cool, or pretty sound.
“You would be really intentional about the notes, or chords, that you choose.”
As American Football celebrates its 25th anniversary, the album continues to inspire a wide range of musicians.
Whether it’s the jangly guitars, experimentation with time and musical structure, or how the band captures the feeling of teenage angst; American Football is a cult-classic that’s cemented as legend in the world of alternative music.