American Football - American Football (Covers) [New Vinyl LP] Colored Vinyl, Cle

American Football COVERS Color Vinyl LP Record NEW

Alongside and in celebration of American Football (25th Anniversary Edition) arrives American Football (Covers), an ingeniously programmed set that highlights not only the way American Football fueled an eventual “emo revival,” but also and perhaps more important how their songs and sounds infiltrated and inspired so many corners of music. From string-swept and imaginative folk to idiosyncratic international pop, from intricate instrumental splendor to open-road shoegaze wonder, (Covers) traces—or at least teases—the endless ways the source material has cut across borders of generation, genre, and geography. It affirms just how important the nine songs three college kids cut in four days remain.

Kinsella’s lyrics on American Football were specific in detail but vague in situation. What we knew was that a relationship was collapsing with less animosity than regret, a sense of future nostalgia shaping words that asked how an ex-couple might feel as the summer passed and they maybe saw each other again. This framework, then, is a perfect invitation for different singers to climb inside and find their own interpretation. There is, for instance, a sweet sense of hope to Iron & Wine’s opening rendition of “Never Meant,” Sam Beam’s singular falsetto pealing like an apology, hoping to pull his lover back toward a relationship’s center. Ethel Cain, meanwhile, lingers and wallows in the uncertainty of the paradoxically titled “For Sure.” Above long, soft drones and guitars that twinkle like stars being extinguished forever, she settles into this song about never really knowing what’s happening. Doom is a foregone conclusion. It is beautiful and tragic, every scene of being together rendered as a pure hypothetical.

In one of the most faithful interpretations here, M.A.G.S. borrows the bitterness and conviction of “I’ll See You When We’re Both Not So Emotional,” less a break-up song than a reckoning with the breaks reality sometimes requires. His keyboard-traced and drum-driven version is sweet but sharp, a reminder that a stop can be an act of self-care. Blondshell slinks into a similar realization during “The Summer Ends,” taking shelter beneath a haze of multi-tracked harmonies and circular guitars to wonder what it’s going to take to move toward happiness—for herself and her partner, either together or apart. “Both been so unhappy,” she sings faintly after a fever breaks. “So let’s just see what happens/when summer ends.” Appropriate for a band who could never have predicted what the future held for these songs, American Football is about not knowing what’s up ahead. Each band here sings that eternal plight in their own tone and tongue.

When American Football wrote and recorded these nine songs in 1999, they were also punk kids who were becoming interested in jazz and modern classical. The touchstones that always appear are Miles Davis, Steve Reich, and The Sea and Cake, but the bigger lesson is their interest in engaging other textures and approaches than distortion and drive. That’s clear in the sparkling guitars and shifting rhythms, in the traces of trumpet and whiffs of keys. And it is obvious on (Covers) in the assorted shapes these songs take.

Though never forsaking the tune itself, Manchester Orchestra imbue “Stay Home” with Reich’s pulsing repetition and Electric Miles’ opalescent glow. They find a way to reconnect the song to its burgeoning references. Yvette Young, of Covet, uses webs of guitar, layers of granular synthesis, and lines of mercurial strings to turn the once-skeletal “You Know I Should Be Leaving Soon” into a lush world. And there at the end, John McEntire, busy back in 1999 scheming Tortoise’s Standards and The Sea and Cake’s Oui, routes “The One With the Wurlitzer” into a Motorik anthem. It feels as emotionally unsure as all of American Football, the beat pushing forever forward while the bittersweet keys seem to turn backward, staring off at what might have been.

On the sidewalk outside of the famous house on the cover of American Football, several lines mark where Chris Strong likely stood when he snapped the photo. They are invitations to capture the scene, just as Strong did in 1999. But on the cover of (Covers), nine different images show the home during subsequent phases of the night, the glow from the upstairs window eventually overrunning the frame. That’s more fun than a mere replication, the same lesson that this compilation holds: Eschewing mimics for acts that took a little bit of American Football and made their own way, (Covers) is a testament to the imagination not only of the original but to those who continue to find it twenty-five years after the band assumed they were done.

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NINEVOLT RECORDS and the RUNDOWN ON SHIPPING VINYL

FAVE NINEVOLT BANDS & ARTISTS: The Mats, Arlyss Nancy, The Young Hearts, Lydia Loveless, Sarah Shook, Menzingers, Brian Fallon & TGA & The Horrible Crowes, sebadoh, Let’s Active, Blake Babies, Bill Janovitz, Boards of Canada, Ruston Kelly, Gasoline Heart, Waxahatchee, Hold Steady, Rilo Kiley, Dave Hause, Tim Hause, Ryan Adams, The Damnwells, Son Volt, Dex Romweber, Flat Duo Jets, Lucero, Patsy Cline, Kevn Kinney, John Moreland, Josh Rouse, Damien Jurado, Marah, Tim Barry, Bob Mould, The Maine, Sam Russo, Northcote, Tommy Keene, Chris Knight, SMYL, Ninja Gun, Jack Knives, Turnpike Troubadours, Neko Case, Lucinda Williams, John Strohm, Sunny Day Real Estate, The Ataris, Patty Griffin, Civil Wars, Jared Hart, Mercy Union, Youth Fountain, Eric Church, John Cash, Mike Ness, Pale Waves, Middle Kids, Stand Atlantic, Tigers Jaw, Treaty Oak Revival, Archers of Loaf, Superchunk, Patti Smith, Ramones, Bash & Pop, Slim Dunlap, The Reivers, Social Distortion, Husker Du… and so many more.

SEALED? Overrated!

Are new records always sealed?

Yes, usually. However, exceptions include those that are shipped from the record label or the distributor in open polyethylene record sleeves and the records I take images of to provide you with seeing the color and art instead of the just you telling you what color it is. In either case, the actual record and the cover will be placed inside a soft 3mm record sleeve when shipped to you. And that's how you should store your vinyl anyway. And it's better for shipping because it eliminates seam splits.

NOTE: To preserve the integrity of the packaging and to those of you like me who want the hype stickers and original stickers, I will include each sticker on the new outer sleeve 99% of the time in the exact place and position it was originally located. (A few stickers can be impossible to remove without tearing. In those rare cases, I'll still include it, just with the shrink stuck on the back and placed inside the cover’s pocket.)

Some labels ship their records without shrink but inside an outer open sleeve for protection. So please don't think it isn't new because of that. It's just how some of the indie labels ship their records, which again is much better than “sealed” shrink.

IMPORTANT NOTE HERE:

I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR SEAM SPLITS.

I will gladly open your sealed record upon your request and carefully place the actual record in a soft 3mm sleeve and ship both the empty cover and the record inside the sleeve but separate. Ta da… no seam splits! You should store your records that way.

QUALITY CONCERNS...

Please note that NOT all NEW and SEALED records come from the pressing plant totally flawless. While it's extremely rare, some newly pressed vinyl can be damaged: scratched, warped, cracked, mislabeled, dirty, dusty, etc. PLEASE do not assume I sent you a bad record intentionally. Just shoot me a message and we can replace it if I have one in stock. And if I tell you an open record is unplayed, then it is, regardless of any damage that occurred before the label shipped it to me. BUT IF YOU HAVE DAMGE OR SCRATCHES after buying an unplayed record, PLEASE contact me immediately and we will find a solution to your satisfaction. Just realize that not all records come out of the factory perfect.

SHIPPING...

I am dealing with cancer, and NINEVOLT is just me. Therefore, I have put a little longer shipping times on my records to counter those days when it's hard to even get out of bed. The timeframe doesn't mean I will always take those few extra days to ship your record, but instead, it gives me a bit of a reprieve if I get weak on occasion and find it hard to get out of bed one day. So I TOTALLY APPRECIATE YOUR UNDERSTANDING and SUPPORT.

IT'S JUST ME.

I do this on my own and selling records (especially new ones) isn't as profitable as you might think. So why do I do it? Because like you, I love music. I live for it. I write songs and play guitar so this is natural stuff to me. It's my vibe and a love affair and my life. I love turning people on to new bands, new songs, new sounds. And I hope I have bands and artists you might not see everywhere. Although she's amazing, I won't be selling Taylor Swift records as it's just too competitive to make a even a dollar.

PRICING... Arrrggghhh.

I know some records are expensive. Well, most of them are. But the profit margins on new ones are silly bad. So, to keep my water warm and my microwave working, I've got to turn a profit. Right? And not being some behemoth monster record store or a big box retailer like Target, I don't get those deep discounts or markdowns on my wholesale costs. And darn it, everything is just expensive. So bear with me. I'll do the best I can.

I KNOW IT TOTALLY BLOWS WHEN YOUR RECORD ARRIVES DAMAGED...

Again, I can't be responsible for seam splits... BUT you have the option to have me carefully and delicately open any sealed record and re-packaged with the cover and record shipped in a soft 3mm sleeve together but separate. (Used records are open so they obviously ship that way.) And you'll have any hype sticker and any other labels reapplied.

JUST SAY SO IN A MESSAGE WHEN YOU PLACE YOUR ORDER if you want me to open your sealed record

Also, if you are ordering an expensive record (around $75 or more), I'll ALWAYS put extra cardboard flats inside the package to keep the shipping box firm and the record protected. And in the case of box sets or a multiple records order that has some weight to it, I will ALWAYS enforce the corners of the outside with cardboard strips for further protection. My packaging is superb.

IS IT COLORED VINYL...

If I know the record is a color variant, it will always say COLOR in the listing. The image will almost always feature the color and be listed in in the description.

If it's BLACK, there usually no mention of the word COLOR. Maybe I'll change that practice and just put BLACK in the listing.

ALSO NOTE THAT some labels make so many variant colors for the same title. And believe it or not, if I order multiple colors of the same title, sometimes they aren't even marked giving me no idea which variants I received. So at times I have to split the seal.

PLEASE shoot me a message with any questions. OR any specifics in shipping your records.

And thanks for the support!

Bonn

Chief Bottle Washer

NINEVOLT RECORDS

Drop needles; not bombs.