American Football are going big for the 25th anniversary of their 1999 self-titled debut LP. The revered emo band is releasing two special versions of the album on October 18 via Polyvinyl: American Football (25th Anniversary Edition) and American Football (Covers), the latter of which boasts new takes on the classic songs by Ethel Cain, Manchester Orchestra, Blondshell, and others. Check out Iron & Wine’s unexpected cover of “Never Meant” below.
“When the first Iron & Wine record came out, it threaded the needle between Townes Van Zandt and Elliott Smith,” recounted American Football guitarist Steve Holmes. “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.”
The 25th anniversary edition of American Football is completely remastered and comes in a silver foil gatefold packaging with a 24-page booklet. As for the covers album, that roster is rounded out by Yvette Young, Girl Ultra, John McEntire, M.A.G.S., Novo Amor and Lowswimmer.
After reuniting, American Football rolled out new self-titled albums in 2016 and 2019, referred to as LP2 and LP3, respectively. They also shared the retrospective collection Year One Demos. And the birthday celebrations for their debut don’t stop at reissues; this autumn, American Football will perform the album live on tour.
Read about American Football at No. 138 in “The 150 Best Albums of the 1990s.”
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American Football (Covers):
01 Iron & Wine: “Never Meant”
02 Blondshell: “The Summer Ends”
03 Novo Amor / Lowswimmer: “Honestly?”
04 Ethel Cain: “For Sure”
05 Yvette Young: “You Know I Should Be Leaving Soon”
06 Girl Ultra: “But the Regrets Are Killing Me”
07 M.A.G.S.: “I’ll See You When We’re Both Not So Emotional”
08 Manchester Orchestra: “Stay Home”
09 John McEntire: “The One With the Wurlitzer”
American Football (25th Anniversary Edition):