'Never Meant' To Be Forgotten: Inside American Football's iconic "LP1"

Ethan Hill
Sep 22, 2025
7 min read

Have you ever drove down a back road in the fall with the windows down and leaves falling from the trees? That’s what LP1 by American Football feels like.

Open tunings, odd time signatures, and intimate vocals are the elements that make American Football. That’s clear in the album’s opening track “Never Meant.” An emo standard featuring twinkly guitars, emotional lyrics and that signature Steve Lamos drum sound. That’s not all they’re about though, because the very next track “The Summer Ends” features a gloomy and beautifully played trumpet piece, also performed by Lamos. This trumpet piece perfectly depicts the title and the feeling of summer ending is perfectly captured. It's really one of the stand out moments for me in the early half of the record.

Next, we move into "Honestly?" One of the more simple and laid back songs on the album. The doubled guitars by Steve Holmes and Mike Kinsella really give a body to this song, and even in 4/4 Steve Lamos gives us the classic AF feel with a precise and snappy approach to the drums. The outro to this song is one of the most captivating sounds on the whole record. It's hard not to just shut your eyes and take in every single note and strum of the guitar. Same goes for the next song "For Sure." A beautiful riff rings out, with a minimal drum beat, some subtle bass and another breathtaking trumpet piece to start the song. Then Mike comes and floors you with his soft and vulnerable vocals to carry the song to it's end. This is only one of two songs you hear bass on during the record.

The next song you can hear bass on is my personal favorite, "I'll See You When We're Both Not So Emotional." This song has always had a unique feel to me. The guitars are mellow and soft, the bass is driving perfctly in between, but the drums are off the hook. The build up in the choruses are perfect, and the tom fills create the best tension for the verse to come back. Then the mood shifts in the second half and adds another unique layer to end the song.

To end the album we get the 8 minute beauty of "Stay Home," another classic AF song that sucks you in and keeps you captivated the entire time and the final track "The One With the Wurlitzer." An instrumental piece with one final trumpet piece to send us off in the best way. "LP1" is like fall on tape, its a light breeze with lots of colors and things falling all around your ears. The sounds of this album shaped a movement, and gave a voice to so many kids over the years. It will always be a classic to me.

When I first discovered American Football, it felt like I had found a whole new way of playing music. I never really considered open tunings or anything before this, but it was mesmerizing to me. It felt fresh and interesting, so much depth to each song, and the vocals were incredible. The lyrics were touching and really sensitive, something I've always appreciated. "We're just two human beings, indvidually. With an inherent interest in each other and how we relate." This lyric has always stuck with me, I think it's a really cool line.

When I listen to "LP1," it's like I said earlier. It's definitley a huge fall time album for me, and I think it captures the perfect feelings of the fall. It's not the most warm feeling album, it's interesting and thought provoking. It's an album I'll put on for a drive, or when I'm in laying in bed. I really enjoy listening to it by myself because there is so much to take in. If I'm having a hard time relaxing, I know I can put "LP1" in my headphones and just shut my eyes. It's a very comforting album to me, it's busy at times, but the vocals always take me home. The trumpets blast me into a different world. The guitars keep me drawn in. It's a true listnening experience and I think it's best played in full. The beauty of the record is captured in every song and the whole album is a work of art. Whether it be Mike and his perfectly emo vocals, or Lamos and his breathtaking trumpet pieces, American Football will speak to you in some way. I think really anyone could enjoy it, and I will always suggest checking them out!

A Conversation With Steve Lamos:

EH: American Football are often times considered “Emo Godfathers” – How does that make you feel?

SL: I’m flattered by the idea that anyone has listened to and been impacted by this record. It’s been over 25 years since we did this stuff, and so it’s astonishing that anyone might still care.

EH: When recording “LP1,” what were some critical moments you remember that impacted the record the most?

SL: I remember rehearsing with the guys in the living room of a little one-bedroom house I was renting in Urbana. (That house was recently demolished, I'm told.) We’d set up in a circle and practice at least two or three times a week. That’s honestly what I remember most about that first version of the band: practicing.

EH: On songs like “The Summer Ends” and “For Sure” do you improvise your trumpet parts, or do you compose them?

SL: I definitely wrote those ahead of time—although I’d guess that both of those melodies evolved from things that I stumbled on in practice. We used to record most practices on cassette, and so I’m guessing that I heard some noodle on tape that I went back and made into a proper part.

EH: Are there any moments from creating the album that stand out to you today?

SL: I remember riding the real faders with Mike and engineer Brendan Gamble as we were mixing the whole album, song by song, down from ADAT to DAT tape. We had to make notes, and then we had to practice fading a couple of times before we tried it for real. (There was no automation back then, and so we had to mix each song down by hand. It was kind of fun, actually.) I also remember hearing the record getting mastered in real time by Jonathan Pines, the man who still owns the main Private Studios facility. He tried to explain what he was doing, but I’ll admit that mastering felt (and still remains) rather mysterious to me.

EH: Steve Holmes said “For Sure” was probably the first time you ever added trumpet to any song. Do you remember how that was decided and how it changed the sound going forward?

SL: See above: I’m not sure how that specific tune came about, but I’m guessing that it was originally from noodling during practice, recording that, and then making the part “official” somehow.

EH: What was the most satisfying drum part on the record for you? Do you remember the reaction when you came up with it?

SL: I probably like “Honestly” and “Stay Home” the best these days. But “Never Meant” is a fun one as well. I don’t remember many of the details of writing any of them, to be honest. But I do remember finishing the particular take of “Never Meant” that appears on the record: we finished, I put my sticks down on the snare (in an image that still sticks in my head), and I thought to myself, “That was the best take I’m ever gonna get.” It's funny how that moment has continued to stick with me.

EH: What is it like being a college professor and also being in the most popular Midwest emo band ever? Does it ever clash?

SL: Sometimes students know about the band, but mostly they don’t. The experience is fun to talk about with students when they are interested—and I definitely do mention it in one class per semester where I get to talk about some research into compositional rhythm and resonance that I’ve been working on. But my job at Boulder is to work with students on their writing, not to talk about my own music with them.

EH: You’ve been posting a lot of drumming videos on social media lately. Is this a practice routine or just something you enjoy doing in your free time?

SL: Both: I love these play-along things. They’re great practice and they’re fun to do. For me, they're not really "covers" so much as examples of mini-writing sessions: “What would I play here if I were given a chance to write for this awesome song?” It’s a blast when people like them. It's also a blast when the original artist reaches out to say that they like the playing: that’s happened a few times lately--and it's made me so happy.

EH: You’ve also teased a solo set here recently. Is singing something you want to incorporate more into your drumming?

SL: I did solo stuff in the early 2000s, and it was a blast. I’d love to reboot that somehow: I have a set more or less done, but the live singing part still isn’t something that I’m 100% comfortable with just yet. We’ll see how it goes.

EH: If you only had one album you could listen to for the rest of your life, what would it be?

SL: I can’t answer that one: it’s just too hard. But I can say that I’ve listened to a number of records hundreds and hundreds of times: Miles Davis’s - In a Silent Way; Bill Frisell with Elvin Jones and Dave Holland; Gillian Welch’s - The Harrow and the Harvest. These days, though, I’m especially into the latest records from Deftones, Haley Williams, and Bruiser Wolf. Each of those has been on repeat for me lately.

Thank you so much Steve!

It's an honor to cover such an iconic record!

New post next Monday 12pm CST

See ya then! - Ethan