Houston emo revival vets Football, etc are giving their 2011 debut album The Draft a remastered reissue. Long out of print, it’s been remixed by J. Robbins, and the artwork has been redesigned by Izzie Mack and Eric Castorena. It’s available for pre-order on vinyl and on streaming now via Rite Field and Count Your Lucky Stars. Variants include “James blue,” named after The Draft drummer James Vehslage, who went on to found Houston DIY venue the Summit and passed away in August of 2019.
We named The Draft highlight “Safety” one of 10 essential slowcore/emo songs, and Andrew wrote:
Football, etc. are a great example of the age-old emo doctrine that nothing goes with tear-jerking emotion like sports references. They’ve been described on multiple occasions as “Mineral meets Rainer Maria”–and both are admitted influences–and they perfectly capture the slowcore vibes of the former on “Safety,” a highlight of their 2011 debut album The Draft. The slow-moving backdrop and Lindsay Minton’s soaring voice are both magnetic, and the song is timeless. They may have been looking to the ’90s for influence, but it still sounds like something that could’ve come out yesterday.
There’s a new video for “Safety” compiled from performances in 2011 and 2012, and you can watch that, and stream The Draft, below.
FOOTBALL, ETC – THE DRAFT TRACKLIST
1. Sudden Death
2. Incomplete
3. Safety
4. Lambeau Leap
5. X’s and 0’s
6. Halftime
7. Sideline
8. Hail Mary
9. Flood
10. Mouthguard