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May 11, 2026This might well be American Football’s finest moment to date. It’s certainly not an easy listen; at times it’s harrowing, emotionally ambiguous and petulant. But sometimes you need to reach hell in order to create something truly significant.
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May 11, 2026American Football has come back with a true classic whether you consider it post-rock, indie, emo or all of the above. Fans of all of those genres should be able to find lots to love about this album, and I'll tell you one thing, it's as addicting as music can be in this day and age.
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May 4, 2026So even if the songwriting guides the band toward the most impressive, experimental reaches of their sound, it also becomes their record most tethered to the lyric sheet and Kinsella’s role as a frontman. It’s a dizzying effect, as the polish of his surroundings never distracts from the rawness at its core.
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May 1, 2026No doubt there will be those who do want to hear all the gory details and be surrounded by big, billowing sounds and LP4 will be just what they need. Anyone in search of the sparse beauty and icy textures of their early work will no doubt be left reaching back to give their first two records a spin and give this one a pass.
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May 1, 2026While this is not a radical departure, it is an expansion of American Football’s signature sound, and it works magnificently.
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May 1, 2026From beginning to end, LP4 is remarkably expansive. Not louder, necessarily – just deeper, messier and quite willing to tolerate discomfort. Middle age has never felt, or sounded, like a more beautiful bummer.
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May 1, 2026American Football can’t help but turn their disgust at their own flaws into some of the most impressive, progressive, winding, melody-rich songs of their career.
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May 1, 2026Where other emo bands might dramatise the horrors and wonders of death, American Football evokes its totality as a comfort, an ending whose completeness leaves nothing to fear. In the process, they’ve crafted another work of startling, very human beauty.
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May 1, 2026Four albums in, imperfect as it is, American Football can still build atmospheres like few others.
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May 1, 2026It’s heavy, undoubtedly, and several tracks flirt with death. But exorcising their demons together has strengthened American Football’s unique chemistry and created their most adventurous music.