Dreamy, delicate & drifting; American Football wow with 'Silhouettes'.
When it comes to mid-west emo music, American Football really are bonafide legends of the scene. Now in 2018, 21 years since their inception, the band pretty much run at their own pace. As seen with the wonderfully hazy sounds of their newest song, the aching 'Silhouettes'; a floating, dreamy, almost-shoegazey sonic experience. It's more expansive than most other cuts in the band's portfolio, that's for damn sure. With Mike Kinsella's ethereal vocals, the tight and flowing rhythms, atmospheric guitar motifs and softly repeating arpeggios, and some twinkling bells and keys, 'Silhouettes' is a bit of a departure from the norm for American Football. But it's one that works.
This style has absolutely been done before by artists that came after this band's first demise and their initial return, but they pull it off. It also feels like a real progression too, rather than that of their previous sophomore LP in 2016, which - despite a couple of decent tracks - merely felt like a safe laurel-rester on what their now-classic 1999 debut record did. (If there was ever a divisive album, that second American Football album sure is it!) While this new track might be a little long for what it is, aren't most American Football songs like that, anyway? In my humble opinion, that lengthy, droning-like characteristic is what sells this new song's haunting vibe so well.
'Silhouettes' is culled from the group's third full-length album, 'American Football (LP3)', coming March 22nd, 2019 via Polyvinyl. The album is surprisingly set to feature guests appearances from the likes of Paramore's Hayley Williams, Land of Talk's Elizabeth Powell, and Slowdive's Rachel Goswell. I'm keen for it - are you? Memorise this beautiful new muscle below:
