(yea, this, wooooooooooo)
Hello once again, my precious ChewChew amigos.
I know I said I'd be reviewing "American Football" this week, however, my copy of it has not arrived and I have only listened to it skimmingly so far. So for the integrity of fine journalism, (I am such a pretentious heap) I will be pushing the review until next week.
TO COMPENSATE, I picked up another album by Mike Kinsella (Owen, Cap'n Jazz, American Football, Their / They're / There) to review, since this man has put out many releases in several outlets. This one is a short lived project known as The One Up Downstairs. Together, they recorded only three, measely songs; a beckoning back, in a way, to American Football's self titled EP.
(album art for the digital download)
The band is comprised of two thirds of American Football (Kinsella and Lamos) as well as half of Very Secretary (David and Allen Johnson), prior to either band starting up. The band became a mysterious legend, as before they released anything, they parted ways to start up their respective projects. This was 1997. After the success of American Football, fans inquired through e-mails, message boards, and other means of communication towards the label on the content this band may or may not have produced, questions regarding the members, as well as queries on whether or not the band even existed. Needless to say, almost twelve years after the band broke up, Polyvinyl released the three songs the band recorded together on a self titled 7" vinyl (as supposedly planned) and as a digital download on January 27th, 2009.
So, let's look at the game facts here:
-Indie legends
-Three recorded songs
-Questions about the bands existence
"Looks like we have a wholesome 10/10, right?!!"
I'm feeling a 7/10..... Maybe 7.5...
I personally felt not so enthrolled with the album as I was with others. It is definitely a well recorded album that I can play after a long day, but I can't really see myself putting this down as an all time favorite of mine. It definitely has the jazzy, indie rooted sound that would later be expressed through the members's other projects, but it wasn't quite as mature as those.
I'd like to beckon back to a week earlier when I said how I thought it was a little bit unfair to rate an album regarding it being only three songs, but the thing is American Football went on to release a full length album follwing this. They had more time to build up on what they already established on their EP. The reason this wasn't as mature was because of the factors surrounding it. The members were already working on these projects and did not have time to work on this whole heartedly.
I would probably say my favorite track on this album would be Franco The Bull. It has a very warm feeling to it with clean guitars, a soothing bass and drum line, and a very steady progression, which I must say is perfect for calming down and relaxing. I'm actually planning to use this song in a video on my skit channel.
Champaigne definitely sounds like and conveys a message of being drunk, from it's slow, SLOW tempo and loud, slowly spoken lyrics. It is also very broken down and simplistic, like the band itself is performing at a kegger post-party, where everyone is crashing or passed out and the band is just winding down. It's an interesting track, to say the least.
I personally think the most forgettable track on the album is the only one I haven't mentioned, Rememories. It has a very typical sort of Indie pop sound to it, faster than its predeccesor and its successor. I don't really have much to say about this track, other than that it's a fun listen when you're actually listening to it, but it has nothing really to bring you back.
My best guess is that the band itself rarely was able to get together and that the album is just a mixed huddle of ideas or jams that the band was able to actually pump out. Is it worth the three dollars I spent on it? Absolutely, yes. I would recommend giving it a listen and formulating your own opinion regarding it.
Many people say this is their best and that they could have been a great band. Who knows? Maybe they could have. It's all up to the listener.
Until next week, that's all I have to say. Thanks for reading.
If you would like to purchase this album physically or digitally, visit: http://www.polyvinylrecords.com/artists/index.php?id=406
If you want me to review anything, just comment below and I'll give it a shot