There’s something mythical about American Football’s debut record, appearing in 1999 and making almost no splash but going on to be considered one of the most influential emo records ever made, arriving quietly and changing everything. LP4 is the work of that same band thirty years older, a lyrically crushing record about infidelity, divorce, addiction and self-loathing with a focus on beauty and loveliness in constant tension with the dark subject matter.

All the classic American Football hallmarks are here with jazzy polyrhythmic drumming that’s impossible to follow, amazing arpeggios, and a restrained and pained vocal performance. These are unmistakably the same soft musicians who made LP1, and yet this record sits much closer to the world of folk-influenced indie than to anything you would currently call emo. The Cure’s influence is front and centre, and Kinsella’s vocals are tinged with gothic qualities and regret, while the instruments carry the hope. No Feeling featuring Brendan Yates of Turnstile operates in a strange time signature that you have to let go of and simply sway to before arriving at a gorgeous church choir chorus. Blood On My Blood is another beautiful stunner and Bad Moons is about the terror of being expected to be a grown up while still fundamentally feeling like a scared little boy inside, a perfect emo theme for any age. Patron Saint of Pale is a definite highlight about feeling like a hopeless wreck that’s alive with great drumming, delicate piano and gorgeous vocal harmonies that refuse to let the song descend into mopiness. Despite the lyrics it contains, this is a strangely fun record to listen to sounding enormous and thankful despite arriving from a very pained place. You could call it pretentious, but you can’t deny the beauty nor the ambition. American Football have been singing about difficult relationships for thirty years. and they’ve more than earned the right to keep going.