American Football’s LP1 anniversary show strikes an emotional chord in London

Relatively unnoticed by its makers, the years that followed saw LP1 achieve something of a semi-mythological status. Brimming with intricately plucked guitars, off-kilter drum beats, and candid teenage sincerity, word-of-mouth among a swelling cult following pulled American Football’s debut album out from suburban obscurity and onto a pedestal centre stage in the burgeoning midwestern emo scene.

With the label facing demand for a vinyl repress and the spreading meme-ification of its album artwork (the glowing window of green-hued house at dusk) permeating Tumblr blogs and music forums, fifteen years later fans' wishes finally were answered. With the addition of Mike’s cousin Nate Kinsella, who would later join as a permanent band member, American Football embarked on tour in 2014, playing sold-out shows that took them across the US and Europe to Australia and Japan.

Now, almost a decade since their reunion brought them to London’s Electric Brixton in 2015, American Football greet a sold-out Roundhouse crowd to celebrate 25 years of midwestern emo’s most influential album. With two more records now under their belt – both aptly named American Football but warmly referred to as LP2 and LP3 by fans – they emerge onto a dimly lit stage to welcoming applause.

Circular orange lamps line the floor, reminiscent of headlights glowing in fog, as their set begins with the first track the trio ever wrote together. Received with cheers, “Five Silent Miles” from their 1998 EP is accompanied by a projected backdrop panning down on a daylit image of the album house, a choice that feels notably significant.

As the band, joined by touring members Mike Garzon and Cory Bracken, proceed through the tracks of LP1, it’s a show that seemingly embraces the passage of time. With each song, the backdrop fades to another angle of the house which, photographed in the cold light of day, loses its aura of romantic nostalgia. Stark white panelled walls replace the dream-like ambience, the light’s inside remain dormant.

With songs first penned decades earlier about the complications of young love, the ennui of youth, a cautious mix of hope and fear haunting an impending future, these references to teenagehood from a group of men now reaching their mid-to-late 40s are given their own subtle reevaluation. In time-lapsed video, clouds drift past, trees shake, the world moves on, and a house is just what it’s always been – a house.

As the band play, the 3000+ fans filling the audience listen intently with eager cheers welcoming the start of each track as recognition hits. While occasional lines of the lyrically minimalist record are sung in unison, it’s often a hushed, transfixed quiet that permeates the room which perhaps is telling of why an album written and meant to be left at the turn of the millenium has had such an enduring impact.

In an era of grand marketing campaigns, numerous co-writers, and lofty expectations for albums to meet, there’s a unimposing softness to LP1 that welcomes each listener to fill with their own rose-tinted memories. In its emotionally raw and unpretentious nature, relatable musings of tumultuous youth are lightly outlined by hinting notions rather than full stories told, all soundtracked by swelling post-rock instrumentals that hint at a cinematic nature.

“The Summer Ends” lets an echoing reverb hang in the air while the trumpet takes over the melody; “Honestly?” and “You Know I Should Be Leaving Soon” spotlight the intricacies of Lamos’ drumming, effortlessly splintering time signatures; and the repetitive riffs of “Stay Home” surge to a precipice that tantalisingly never quite leaves the cliff face.

The audience erupts as the backdrop fades to a familiar dusk-lit image and the first plucks of American Football’s best-known song and clear fan-favourite “Never Meant” ring out to close the album playthrough. But, following a fan’s request for help in the tightly-packed crowd and a ten minute break while staff assist, the song is left unfinished.

When the band reemerges on stage to perform a number of tracks from across their second and third albums, there’s a notable change in atmosphere. While LP2’s “Where Are We Now?” is a twinkly rendition of yearning and the bright polish of “My Instincts Are the Enemy“ receive a singalong from some of the crowd, there’s a growing restlessness that suggests an unfamiliarity. Fixed in place with eyes downcast on their instruments, what the stage lacks in spectacle the band make up for in earnest sincerity.

It’s a sign that perhaps the success of LP1 is to forever mark a blessing and a curse for the group as their focus turns to the new music they’re creating together. Although their post-reunion tracks are easily worthy of praise, delivering glowing post-rock ambience, brooding build-ups and a shift towards the realms of dream-pop, the cult status of their debut has seemingly set a high bar against them. Across the packed out room, tees emblazoned with ‘TTNG’, ‘Delta Sleep’, ‘Joyce Manor’ and ‘Algernon Cadwalladar’ among others, spotlight more recent acts the ripples of the group’s debut has touched.

In a highlight of the show’s second half, Mike Kinsella welcomes his partner Justine Fallon on stage to accompany “Uncomfortably Numb” and “Every Wave”, her voice an amplifying presence and a welcome surprise. While the show planned to end on “Doom in Full Bloom”, a standout song from 2019’s LP3, the show’s earlier interruption has left a track unfinished – and one which feels far more fitting as a final note.

As the band strip back and let the final line of “Never Meant” ring out across the crowd, the iconic house, once more flooded in light, becomes a blur in the background as a branch with the new growth of fresh green leaves offers a telling sign.

Setlist

“Five Silent Miles“
“The Summer Ends“
“Honestly?"
“For Sure“
“You Know I Should Be Leaving Soon“
“But the Regrets Are Killing Me“
“I'll See You When We're Both Not So Emotional“
“Stay Home“
“The One With the Wurlitzer“
“Never Meant“
“Where Are We Now?“
“My Instincts Are the Enemy“
“Born to Lose“
“Uncomfortably Numb“
“Every Wave to Ever Rise“
“Doom in Full Bloom“
“Never Meant“