American Football‘s influence spans far and wide, as evidenced in part by the tracklist of their upcoming LP1 covers album, which includes a vast array of musicians taking on songs from the classic 1999 LP. One of those covers comes from Southern Gothic alt-pop singer Ethel Cain, an artist who is, by multiple metrics, much more popular than American Football. She takes on “For Sure,” which she stretches from its original three minutes and 16 seconds into a nearly-10-minute song. Her version keeps the spirit of the original alive and also genuinely adds something new to it. American Football’s own Steve Lamos even says, “Ethel Cain has somehow made me like this track even more than I already did.”
Ethel says, “I knew I wanted to do ‘For Sure’ immediately. It’s always stood out to me every time I spin the record, and I knew exactly how I wanted to translate it into my sound. My favorite part of the entire track is the sound of the train going by the apartment I lived in back in Pennsylvania, stretched out like a synth at the beginning and end. American Football is one of those bands that really marked such a moment in time with their debut record, a mark with so much longevity that it found me the same way at 20 years old that I imagine it found everyone else the day it was first released: as an instant classic. Their sonic storytelling has inspired me in more ways than I can count over the years, so being asked to contribute to this covers edition was truly an honor. American Football forever.”
Lamos, who’s also a college professor, first heard Ethel’s music through one of his students. “They wrote a brilliant paper explaining how Cain’s ‘American Teenager’ created a lush sonic landscape through textural elements, careful pacing, and plaintive lyrics,” he says. “Cain bathes ‘For Sure’ here in similar luxury. She takes her time with each note, each phrase, and each vowel. In the process, she manages to intensify the ache and longing of the original: the ‘ooooohs’ and ‘aaaaahs’ echo almost endlessly here.”
Listen and watch the video, which Ethel also shot and edited, below. The covers album also features Iron & Wine, Manchester Orchestra, Blondshell, and more, and it comes out on October 18 via Polyvinyl along with a remastered version of the original album (pre-order).
American Football will also be performing LP1 in full on tour this fall, including NYC shows on October 26 and 27 at Warsaw with Hello Mary on night one and IAN SWEET on night two. All dates and all opening bands are listed below.
Ethel Cain also has some tour dates coming up, including a few shows with Mitski and the Columbia, MD and NYC editions of the All Things Go festival.
American Football — 2024 Tour Dates
09/11 – Nottingham, UK @ Rock City #
09/12 – Glasgow, UK @ Barrowland Ballroom #
09/13 – Bristol, UK @ SWX #
09/14 – London, UK @ Roundhouse # [SOLD OUT]
09/27 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall % [SOLD OUT]
09/28 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall ^ [SOLD OUT]
10/11 – Las Vegas, NV @ Best Friends Forever Festival
10/12 – Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre ~ [SOLD OUT]
10/13 – Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre * [SOLD OUT]
10/24 – Washington, DC @ Howard Theatre !
10/25 – Washington, DC @ Howard Theatre + [SOLD OUT]
10/26 – Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw # [SOLD OUT]
10/27 – Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw = [SOLD OUT]
11/16 – Mexico City, Mexico @ Corona Capital Festival
# w/ Hello Mary
% w/ BNNY
^ w/ Wishy
~ w/ Yvette Young
* w/ M.A.G.S.
! w/ Sweet Pill
+ w/ Aunt Katrina
= w/ IAN SWEET