15 Greatest Emo Albums Of All Time
1. American Football - American Football
American Football’s debut album entrances you from its opening notes. Serpentine guitar lines, the warmth of the bass, the complex rhythms and counter rhythms. They are a band with incredible technical talents - that, you can tell right off the bat.
There’s more to the album than sheer chops, though, and as soon as vocalist Mike Kinsella starts things off on “Never Meant”, American Football have you gripped. The woozy, dreamy textures are complemented by lyrics more textural than narrative-driven. The whole album is one long heartbreak, but the specifics are down to the individual listener.
American Football aren’t afraid to go epic on “Honestly” and “Stay Home”, and the jazzy influences and unusual instrumentation add to the sense of scope and ambition. The album is the teenage experience writ large: emotional matters of the youthful heart blown up into something truly gigantic.
Breaking up shortly after the album’s release, it would be 15 years before they toured again, and 17 before another album dropped. Their return was a long time coming and more than welcome, but had they never picked up another instrument, their legacy would be more than secure.