American Football had an un-Google-able band name before Googling band names was even a thing (just see the advertisement YouTube runs before the video). The Chicago-based emo legends probably never foresaw the impact that their 2009 eponymous debut (and only full-length) would have on lovers of slinky guitar lines and painfully crooned, forlorn lyrics, either.
"We had no idea," Kinsella told Noisey when queried about fans' response to the band's upcoming, four-stop reunion tour. "We played to like 40 people, at our biggest show ever, in a basement back in the day."
Well, it all kind of comes full circle today with the release of an official video for "Never Meant" (via NPR).
The Chris Strong-directed clip clocks in at just under five minutes and perfectly depicts a world where 20-somethings yearn for love while listening to records on the floor, laying in hammocks, and making crafts for their objects of affection. They always end up leaving said arts & crafts at the doorsteps of the boys and girls they're still obsessing about post-breakup, too. It's all quintessentially emo and befitting of a song that anchored an album that arguably served as the gold standard for countless bands that came after American Football.
You can have a look at the video below and then nerd out over Polyvinyl Records' deluxe reissue of American Football (2X red vinyl, unreleased tracks and never before seen photos) here. The band is playing a trio of already sold-out New York City dates at Webster Hall, but you could try your hand at catching them at the Pygmalion Festival in Ubana-Champaign, Illinois on September 28.
