American Football’s 3rd album (and 2nd since their comeback a few years ago) showcases a much more expansive and creatively more varied sound, even more so than their long overdue comeback.
Getting the elephant in the room out of the way; the key difference between this release and their previous two is the inclusion in three female vocalists lending their talents to three songs.Unlike The National’s latest album, in which a similar inclusion caused the record on the whole to lose a sense of identity and didn’t really add any additional substance minus becoming an accidental gimmick, LP3 does a better job, whether it’s Elizabeth Powell ghostly tones on Every Wave to Ever Rise, Hayley Williams added perspective and a surprisingly more mature counter to Mike Kinsella on Uncomfortably Numb or Rachel Goswell on I Can’t Quit You, wherein she is used sparingly for vocal harmonies or individual hooks to help the music.
Much like previous releases, American Football songs ditch riffs and solos to simply take the listener on a journey, sometimes songs outstay their welcome but otherwise, the album is a marked improvement on their comeback, as the overall sound of the record has a more dream, ethereal quality.
Whilst their debut will always remain as a cult favourite, LP3 is an enjoyable rock album, although a touch stretched out in places, it opens with a blitz in Silhouettes, the aforementioned inclusion of guest vocalists gives the band’s sound a needed change for the majority of the album and whilst Life Support isn’t the grandiose closer the album may have benefited from, LP3 still stands a solid release and one that I can only hope, equates for more material in the future.
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