By Benji Chapman, Music Editor

Performing their self-titled album in full on its 25th birthday, the band honoured their roots while playfully responding to their influence on future generations of Midwest emo fans. Frontman Mike Kinsella’s blend of quips and playful interaction with the audience contrasted with the emotional weight of the band’s complex, open-tuned soundscapes, resulting in a show that was deliciously awkward in its self-awareness.

American Football’s self-titled debut has been gathering dust within music forums, memes, and the dog-eared vinyl collections of Midwest emo fans for a long time now: 25, to be exact. Like so many outstanding records, parodies of its instantly recognisable album cover have only increased its popularity and appeal, with the famous ‘LP1 house’ being bombarded with requests to enter its hallowed halls since the band bought the property in May 2023 for renting purposes.

I couldn’t help but grin as I surveyed SWX upon entering and was met by a sea of men wearing fisherman’s beanies, corduroy trousers, and flannel shirts that were expected to be the male dress code. An older crowd, drabbed in appropriate attire, fit the bill given the occasion as members of the audience flocked to the stage, where the band had quietly assembled by 20:30.

From the outset, it was clear that these were fans who had grown up listening to the record. Anticipation was wry when the set began, and no time was wasted as the group powered through the album in its entirety, albeit in an unconventional order, and with some curious audience interactions. Beginning with an obscure B-side, the track ‘Five Silent Miles’ took me by surprise as a choice of opener.

However, a sense of stability returned as the band continued to worth through their earlier work. From behind the shade of his baseball cap, Mike Kinsella returned frequently to a joke about his dying grandparents, which was a little eerie, if another valuable point of consistent reference throughout the show that marked it with a teenage awkwardness reminiscent of the band’s beginnings.

Kinsella continued to crack jokes by imitating shouts of ‘I love you’ with his own attempt at an English accent, and his love of the Brits was magnified as ‘Never Meant’ took its turn on the setlist; introducing the song with the quip ‘Here’s “Wonderwall”‘ before he broke into the jangly opening lick. I maintain that if The Smiths invented ‘jangle pop’, then Midwest emo bands imported it to the States and made it more depressing, and a trio of open-tuned guitars filled the concert room to be accompanied by some reflectively sombre lyrics.

Shattering my immersive moment of sonic bliss, however, Kinsella returned to a sillier tone that we had become accustomed to by now, belting out Wonderwall’s lyrics instead of the original. Joking aside, it had been a refreshingly humorous approach to music that is conventionally emotional (as the name suggests) rather than playful in tone.

The stylistic outcome of the performance was one that resonated across generations and around the globe, from the Midwestern states to Bristol. It was a show that honoured the past and cheekily embraced the present- matched with awkwardness that would have been unfitting were it not for the exceptional musicianship and artistry on display that bared the band’s youthful soul for all to see.

Featured Image: Alexa Viscus

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What is your favourite song from American Football’s debut?