Emo Icons American Football Announce First-Ever Aussie Tour

Celebrated, famously short-lived late-'90s emo outfit American Football are following in the footsteps of fellow reawakened scene veterans Mineral, having noticed in this post-2000 age that they have a much larger audience than they ever dreamed of accruing, and they're belatedly getting around to visiting the far-off places and people who've made do with recordings alone for more than a decade.

Having now traversed the US, American Football — yet another devoutly worshipped project of multi-instrumentalist Mike Kinsella, of the renowned Chicago Kinsella brothers — set their sights on Europe, the UK, Japan, and now turn their attentions towards Australia, with the announcement of three capital-city shows in the great southern land this July.

The trio's maiden Aussie journey kicks off at The Brightside, in Brisbane, on Friday, 3 July, before heading down to Melbourne's HiFi on Saturday, 4 July, and wrapping up at the Oxford Art Factory, in Sydney, on Sunday, 5 July.

If this is a band that's passed you by, it's important to know that they've built a dedicated worldwide following of fans off the back of just one full-length album — 1999's seminal self-titled effort, plus a preceding, less-well-known three-track EP — and a handful of DIY shows in the fertile environment of late-'90s Chicago. The advent of file-sharing took American Football out of the basement and into the thriving online counterculture of the early 2000s, leading to an eventual deluxe re-release of their debut album last year and this latest burst of touring activity. We're not complaining.

Check out the vid for key track Never Meant, below, then hit theGuide or see The Music App to get across all the relevant booking details for your city. Tickets for American Football's maiden Aussie tour go on sale this Thursday, 12 February; they will be supported by fellow Americans Birthmark, plus to-be-announced special guests.