Attaining cult status isn’t something an artist can plan for. It’s certainly not something American Football’s Mike Kinsella had on his card when he and his bandmates – Steve Holmes and Steve Lamos – went their separate ways right after recording their self-titled debut back in 1999.
Kinsella began writing and releasing music under the name of Owen, while pockets of adoration for the American Football album proliferated across the US and beyond. For those in the know, they became a sonic reference point of almost Biblical importance as twinkly guitar tones, alternate tunings and uncommon time signatures boomed in the midwest emo, post-rock and math-rock scenes of the mid-2000s.
