American Football have formally introduced their new album LP4, set for release on 1st May 2026 via Polyvinyl Record Co..
The announcement follows a brief period of silence that saw the band wipe their social channels, prompting speculation about new material. The rumours have now been confirmed, with LP4 marking the group’s latest chapter in a catalogue that has quietly shaped the trajectory of Midwest emo since their 1999 debut.
Ahead of the album’s release, American Football have shared ambitious new single ‘Bad Moons’. Running close to eight minutes, the track unfolds in distinct movements, reflecting its origins as two separate demos later fused together.
Produced by Sonny DiPerri, the song opens with delicate harp flourishes before evolving into the band’s signature lattice of interlocking guitars. Frontman Mike Kinsella delivers a vocal performance that moves from restraint to release, threading innocence and unease through the shifting arrangement.
Kinsella explains: “‘Bad Moons’ is actually a Frankenstein of two different demos we’d been passing around for quite a while: one playful, with children playing and toy-pianos plinking; one brooding, with guitars screeching and drums bombasting. I had already been singing the ‘(…) in the dark’ mantra over the latter, so the biggest challenge for me was thematically bridging the innocence and buoyancy of the first act with the deep despair of the second.”
He continues, describing the conceptual pivot that anchors the piece: “I decided to begin the song as a child. Or, rather…two. Stacked up in a single trench coat; secretly, reluctantly living the life of a grown man, accruing all of his missteps and guilt along the way. By the end, these missteps are almost spilling out of the boys. A cathartic confession.”
A video directed by Alex Acy and Rémi Belleville accompanies the track, expanding on its surreal tonal shifts.
American Football have also confirmed an additional London date, playing O2 Forum Kentish Town on 27th and 28th June 2026.
LP4 arrives on 1st May 2026.
