News

American Football have shared their first single from LP4

Listen to American Football’s new single Bad Moons, which Mike Kinsella calls a “cathartic confession, hopefully at least somewhat relatable to anyone listening who’s ever lived a life”.

American Football have shared their first single from LP4
Words:
Emily Garner
Photo:
Alexa Viscius

American Football have just unveiled the first single from their highly-anticipated LP4.

Ahead of the record’s release on May 1 via Polyvinyl, the beloved Midwest emos have dropped lead track Bad Moons in all its eight-minute glory.

“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,” explains Mike Kinsella.

“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. I decided to begin the song as a child. Or, rather… two. Stacked up in a single trenchcoat; 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, hopefully at least somewhat relatable to anyone listening who’s ever lived a life.”

Watch the video, directed by Alex Acy and Rémi Belleville, below:

See the band live this year at the following:

American Football 2026 tour dates

May

15 Denver, CO @ Summit Music Hall
17 Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Block Party
18 Boise, ID @ Treefort Music Hall
19 Seattle, WA @ Moore Theater
20 Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
22 San Francisco, CA @ Regency Ballroom
23 Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern
24 San Diego, CA @ The Observatory North Park

June

19 Milan, Italy @ Alcatraz
20 Stuttgart, Germany @ Im Wizeman
21 Cologne, Germany @ Die Kantine
23 Brussels, Belgium @ La Madeleine
24 Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
26 Leeds, UK @ O2 Academy
27 London, UK @ O2 Kentish Forum
28 London, UK @ O2 Kentish Forum

July

8 Boston, MA @ Royale
9 New York, NY @ Brooklyn Paramount
10 Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
11 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
14 Richmond, VA @ The National
15 Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel
16 Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse

August

7 Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues
8 Toronto, ON @ The Concert Hall
9 Pittsburgh, PA @ Roxian Theatre
10 Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall
12 Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works
13 Indianapolis, IN @ Deluxe at Old National Centre
14 Chicago, IL @ The Salt Shed
15 Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Ballroom
16 Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue

Read this next:

Check out more:

Now read these

The best of Kerrang! delivered straight to your inbox three times a week. What are you waiting for?