A mellow, intricate, and beautifully-crafted song that showcases American Football at their unique best.
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10
American Football, the only album to date from the math-emo legends of the same name, is arguably one of the great cult albums in musical history, made and released with little fanfare before it growing into the trailblazing record that it is now known as. But, after a long hiatus and rumours aplenty, American Football has confirmed album number two, sharing the same name as the original, set for release in October. New single ‘I’ve Been So Lost For So Long’ is their first piece of new material in over 15 years, and it’s just as melancholic, meticulous, and stellar as what has come before.
The title itself works perfectly as a bittersweet opening line for a return of such significance. Every ounce of longing is felt in Mike Kinsella’s voice as he eases out the lyrics, and the remainder plays out in a similar way (“If you find me / Would you please remind me / Why I woke up today”). This is textbook American Football, proving that they’ve not lost a step in the two decades since arriving on the scene. Its riffs are as intricate and mellow as ever, and the drums and bass utilise typically experimental time signatures and off beats, incorporating jazz and math-rock elements to craft a song that slots perfectly into their back catalogue. Individually, the band clearly hasn’t waned at all in its abilities: this is a perfectly structured song that flows so effortlessly and poetically from verse to chorus to bridge and so. True emo music can invoke emotion in both the lyrics and the music, and here American Football shows that no one can do it better.
‘I’ve Been So Lost For So Long’ is out now via Polyvinyl
