Football, etc.

Away Game/XXL

Written by: DR on 29/11/2010 19:21:51

In recent years, there seems to have been a boom in bands trying to take emo away from black fringes and Myspace to back where it rightfully belongs: in lo-fi, passionate, emotional indie. Courtesy of Count Your Lucky Stars, I have been exposed to a few of these bands; the latest being Football, etc. Earlier in the year I reviewed their split with the excellent Empire! Empire! , so we have previous, even if it was only one song. That one song was enough to get some sort of understanding of the trio, and now that understanding is developing further with this promo: Away Game/XXL.

The more I listen to Football, etc. the more I'm convinced of their understanding for this genre. Everything is in the correct place: the Mineral & Sunny Day Real Estate influences, the lo-fi production, the drawn-out, wavering vocals, the indie/math-ish musicianship. It's instantly recognisable, nostalgic even.

"Away Game" has fairly typical jangly guitars and relaxed vocals prone to threaten urgency; they create moments of quiet, giving the vocals room to breathe, which they then balance out well with a slightly more aggressive and full-on approach for the chorus of "You lay your hands on their tiny heads". Lindsay Minton draws you in at the start of "XXL" with a prolonged "What were you thinking?". This side shows the darker side to Football, etc., which is generally less intricate and more pulsating, dare I say "loud", than the previous effort.

Football, etc are paying tribute to their heroes without drawing too much influence from modern artists (at least it doesn't sound so from this), so some may think this style as they play it is dated. That doesn't have to be a bad thing though, because they do it well.

7

Download: Away Game
For The Fans of: Mineral, Sunny Day Real Estate
Listen: Myspace

Release Date August 2010
Count Your Lucky Stars

Related Items | How we score?
Comments
comments powered by Disqus

Legal

© Copyright MMXXIV Rockfreaks.net.