
Honoring 25 years of American Football's debut — pre-order LP1 Covers album + 25th Anniversary remastered deluxe edition (out 10/18)
American Football (aka LP1) was originally released in fall of 1999. At that time, Polyvinyl was just three years old and was run by Darcie and myself from our two bedroom house in Danville.
Darcie and I were friends with Mike, Steve Holmes, and Steve Lamos and American Football was playing around the basement and DIY show scene in Urbana while everyone was in college. They recorded LP1 to document the band and then parted ways as everyone was moving on after graduation. We loved the record and didn’t want it to fade away as a short-lived college band’s album that no one ever heard. So, in the spirit of chronicling the scene, we decided to release the record anyway.
Now, 25 years later, it will never be lost on me how special Polyvinyl and American Football’s relationship turned out to be.
- Matt Lunsford, 2024
Co-Founder, Polyvinyl Record Co.
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After a years-long hunt for the original master tapes of American Football's seminal debut, and a subsequent quest for a machine that would render them properly, LP1 has been lovingly remastered by its original engineer Jonathan Pines in the same place it was first captured, Urbana’s Private Studios. Originally recorded in four days in the Spring of 1999, American Football (25th Anniversary Edition) sounds sharper and more full of depth than it ever has before.
What’s more, the new edition arrives alongside American Football (Covers) featuring an array of talented artists including Iron & Wine, Ethel Cain, Manchester Orchestra, Blondshell and more. This ingeniously programmed set highlights not only the way American Football fueled an eventual “emo revival,” but also how their songs and sounds cut across borders of generation, genre, and geography. From string-swept imaginative folk, international pop, instrumental splendor, and open-road shoegaze wonder – LP1 (Covers) affirms just how important these nine songs remain.
Pre-order your copy of American Football (25th Anniversary Edition) adorned in a spot embossed and silver foil gatefold packaging with a 24-page booklet as well as the American Football (Covers) on White w/ Gold & Blue Splatter vinyl - both out October 18.
Today, Iron & Wine’s take on “Never Meant,” recorded with producer Brad Cook (Waxahatchee, Bon Iver, Indigo De Souza), is the first cover to be revealed alongside its official music video starring Sam Beam transposed across the walls of the iconic American Football House in Urbana, IL - he explains:
"My neighbor Brad Cook and I have been circling each other hoping to work on something for a bit. When I was asked about this project, it felt like the perfect opportunity. Especially a song that I knew meant a lot to American Football’s fans. Honored to be part of this and hoping we did it justice.” - Sam Beam (Iron & Wine)
Steve Lamos expresses the band's gratitude:
“When the first Iron & Wine record came out, it threaded the needle between Townes Van Zandt and Elliott Smith. It felt like if Nick Drake grew up with us listening to Fugazi before pivoting to making bedroom art folk. In other words, it was exactly what we would have been making if our first record came out when we were 28 instead of 22. Sam Beam is an incredible songwriter and interpreter of song, and it is beyond flattering that he would take the time to interpret one of ours.” - Steve Lamos (American Football)
Watch/listen below -
American Football (Covers) Tracklist
1. Iron & Wine - “Never Meant”
2. Blondshell - “The Summer Ends”
3. Novo Amor & Lowswimmer - “Honestly?”
4. Ethel Cain - “For Sure”
5. Yvette Young - “You Know I Should Be Leaving Soon”
6. Girl Ultra - “But the Regrets Are Killing Me”
7. M.A.G.S. - “I’ll See You When We're Both Not So Emotional”
8. Manchester Orchestra - “Stay Home”
9. John McEntire - “The One With the Wurlitzer”