American Football are an influential indie-rock band and Midwest emo
trailblazers from Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, known for their emotionally
charged music, intricate arrangements, and pioneering role in the first-wave emo
and math-rock genres. Formed in 1997, the band initially consisted of Mike
Kinsella (vocals, guitar), Steve Lamos (drums, trumpet), and Steve Holmes
(guitar), and they are best known for their self-titled debut album American
Football (1999), which is often considered one of the defining records of the
late 1990s emo movement. The band’s early sound was charac...