As the leaves fall off the trees and cold weather begins to creep into Northeast Pennsylvania, there is no better way to appreciate the change of seasons than listening to calm, acoustic music with soft tunes and heavy messages.

On Oct. 21, the band American Football released a new album entitled “American Football (LP2),” allowing fans of the band to be immersed in new indie rock/emo songs the band is known for. This was the first album from American Football in 17 years, which increased the popularity of the album. The album contains nine smooth sounding, harmonics-filled tracks.

Track number one on American Football’s new album is titled “Where are We Now?” where Lead Singer Mike Kinsella talks about the separation and changes that occurred in his relationship. The song has unfathomable depth and meanings that can certainly hit home. An example of this depth is through the lines, “Strange how these city streets have changed faces/ Would you even know me if time hadn’t stole me?”

The second track on the “American Football (LP2)” is titled “My Instincts are the Enemy,” which begins with soft acoustics and harmonics. The song speaks about the need for a significant other to help a damaged soul get back onto their feet. “My Instincts are the Enemy” gives listeners a great taste of American Football’s genre and sound.

The third track on the new album is entitled “Home is Where the Haunt is,” which begins with yet another acoustic riff, perfectly played by Kinsella. The track goes on to explain the leftover memories that haunt the speaker, especially through the chorus. The lines “The ghost in the corner of the room / Knows what you sleep in / When you’re dreaming, of who” gives listeners this idea.

“Born to Lose” is the fourth track on the album and it starts with a different sound than the previous three tracks. A slightly harder and more emotional drumbeat starts the song, along with faded sounds of electric guitar with heavy distortions. “Born to Lose” explains the complications and anger that the singer has between someone they know. The lyrics also allow the singer to show how much he regrets who he has become and feels like he needs to cover up who he truly is.

“I’ve Been So Lost For So Long” is the fifth track in American Football’s new album, which has some of the deepest verses and lyrics American Football has ever created. Lines such as, “If you need me, don’t” and “Doctor, it hurts when I exist” smack the listeners into hard emotions and thoughts. This was also the first track released from the new album back in August.

Track six is entitled “Give me the Gun,” which begins with more harmonics and a drumbeat that works perfectly with the bass. The song speaks of empty motives that scare Kinsella and what will become of his relationship. Even though there are only a few short verses in the song, the instrumental breaks truly make the track come to life. Harmonics begin in the last seconds of the song, almost sounding as though wind chimes are slowly bringing the song to an end.

The seventh song on the album is called “I Need a Drink (Or Two, or Three),” which has a laid-back groove for listeners, explaining the need for something to kill the singer’s mind so he can peacefully go about living. The track itself seems to skip over itself at times, creating an imperfect, yet charismatic sound that pulls listeners into the song.

One of the last songs on the new American Football album is entitled “Desire Gets in the Way,” leaving behind the soft and smooth tracks for a moment and bringing in sharper and heavier guitar. The track brings out uglier and more emotional pieces of American Football, with such lines from the bridge as “We’ll lie here forever like condemned criminals on trial / I’m down for whatever / The uglier, the better.”

The final song on the album is called “Everyone is Dressed Up,” explaining the strong bonds between the singer and his significant other. Throughout the track, Kinsella uses deep verses to convey how those around them will forget their love, but they surely will live on throughout each other until death plays a role.

Although taking quite a new spin of sound from the 1999 American Football album, “LP2” has a great, smooth sound for anyone to enjoy throughout the changing seasons. I found this most fulfilling while driving in the autumn sunshine because they just fit so perfectly together. Along with this, I enjoyed the way the harmonics throughout the album sounded like wind chimes, which made it even better that the album was released during this part of the year.

Overall, I believe that American Football created a fantastic new album that contained a vast array of instrumentation for all to enjoy. I highly recommend this new album to anyone who enjoys listening to soft, laid-back music in the indie and emo genres.

I hope that American Football will continue to write together and create more albums such as this and their first self-titled LP that was released back in 1999. I have very high hopes that American Football will take a stab at branching out to new and different sounds, drawing more inspiration from a vast array of genres and making them their own.

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