Everyone has to grow up at some point.

You aren’t the same person you were last year — in fact, you’d be betraying your true identity if you were. Artists, too, are human, and as such, they must grow. The urge to move forward is a key theme for Illinois band American Football. Nearly 20 years after their iconic debut, the band reveals that while much has changed, some things will always stay the same. Their third album places them in a refreshingly crisp sonic atmosphere. It feels like the last fleeting days of warmth in the summer, where the winds of winter slowly retake the temperatures. After a relatively forgettable second LP, the band took a hiatus to refine and re-prioritize their sound. 3 is a result of their labor — a numbing, frostbitten collection of songs that materializes itself in quiet, substantial stories.

Aesthetics

3 is able to pay tribute to songs of the band’s past while also painting a new picture of stylistic sounds. The band manages to maintain their trademarked sound that’s set them apart for so long while simultaneously evoking larger-than-life imagery reminiscent of the band’s hometown in rural Illinois. It’s as sparse as it is vast and dense; ideas slowly unravel as songs evolve and build their shapes. 3 is a step out of the band’s comfort zone, but it’s a risk that, for the most part, pays off in dividends. While some songs may overstay their welcome at points, the album remains consistent in its stylistic choices, localizing everything in the same sonic atmosphere.

Best Aesthetics: Uncomfortably Numb’s chilly, foreboding atmosphere is comparable to a Death Cab for Cutie song. It features similar vocal infractions, melancholy chord arrangements, and a breathtakingly beautiful guest verse from Hayley Williams of Paramore. It’s a small spotlight on a large stage, a vignette of vastness. It’s far and above the band’s strongest outing on the album.

Lyricism

Beloved for their work with words, American Football picks up on 3 directly where they left off, sharing stories of difficult situations that we may too often experience. Silhouettes lays out the challenges of loving again after experiencing infidelity, while Uncomfortably Numb describes the struggles of growing old. American Football’s lyrics are as brief as they are grating, leaving you to embrace the numbness of their instrumentation while you take in the weight of their words. Every stanza has a purpose, and every verse leaves you lamenting on the arduous questions that life urges you to ponder. Intros and outros and bridges alike help to bring the crux of 3‘s themes to its forefront.

Best Lyrics: Silhouettes cuts to the core at every stanza, specifically at its simple, yet substantial bridge. Oh, the muscle memories/Continue to haunt me is repeated three times, weighing heavier with each delivery. It does a wonderful job of encapsulating the hard-hitting brevity that American Football is renowned for; you’d be hard-pressed to find songs that can make you feel so hurt with words so few.

Personality

20 years is a long time. The band’s reunion, while a welcome return to form, provides us with a close-up view on what time can do to a group. Here, the band’s growth manifests itself in the maturity of their sound over the last 20 years, from their choice in topics to long list of guest stars. It’s truly a treat to see such dynamic growth. Guest verses from Hayley Williams, Elizabeth Powell, and Rachel Goswell help to contrast with Nate Kinsella’s soothing, pained vocal delivery. The songs with guest stars are the most memorable, recapturing the essence that made American Football so special in the first place.

Best Personality: If you’re on the hunt for classic American Football, Every Wave to Ever Rise is your best call. The album’s second track features a chilling introduction that arrests listeners at a moment’s notice. Forever has to wait/I can’t face another day rips at your heartstrings, unleashing a numbness through your body at a moment’s notice. Kinsella’s pained vocal delivery, coupled with Elizabeth Powell’s soothing voice, create a song worth experiencing over and over.

Quality

3 is the band’s most crisp and clean album to date. It’s mixed with melancholy in mind. Each song feels like it was recorded in an open field. The sparse production and instrumentation gives each song a feeling of emptiness. While the first half of the album showcases American Football at their best in nearly two decades, the second half lulls itself into a few pitfalls that the band encountered on their second LP. Here, songs come and go as they please, either overstaying their welcome or abruptly leaving your company with more questions than answers.

Highest Quality: The album reaches a chilling conclusion on Life Support, leaving listeners more emotionally scarred than ever before. Lyrics range from relatable to lamentable, telling a tale of regret across an impressively cold collection of sounds. In traditional American Football fashion, the band leaves the story of the song open to interpretation. You couldn’t ask for a better closer to an album of this magnitude.

Conclusions

Despite any setbacks, American Football’s reunion on 3 delivers what they’re best known for; insightful, hard-hitting math rock that has long cemented the band as a pioneer of modern emo. 3 is a beautiful return to form, reminding us why the band has been renowned as one of the first to master the modern art of delivery. It lingers in your mind long after its conclusion, urging you to try it once again in a vain hope that, maybe this time, the ending won’t be as sad. But no matter how hard you rage against the dying of the light, it still manages to stake its claim on your emotions, robbing you of what little warmth you still possess.

Final Score: 7.8 Cold Mornings/10

For more ethereal, ambient emo, be sure to check out Turnover’s Peripheral Vision. If you’re a fan of creative instrumentation, Title Fight’s Hyperview does the trick as well. Do you have an album you’d like reviewed? Maybe a project you’ve made that you’d like to have a look? Head over to the Contact page and send in your submission!