It’s true: American Football are really releasing a second album! After posting a series of teasers this week, the Illinois emo giants have confirmed that a new LP is coming this October, their first in 17 years. Pitchfork reports that like their 1999 debut, this one will be self-titled. The band and producer Jason Cupp recorded it earlier this year at ARC Studios in Omaha and SHIRK Studios in Chicago.

News of the album arrives today along with lead single “I’ve Been So Lost For So Long,” which seasons the group’s interlocking high-end guitar sound with traces of Explosions In The Sky-style post-rock drama while remaining firmly earthbound, roving through wistful reflections. Listen below, where you’ll find full album details and tour dates.

Tracklist:

01 “Where Are We Now?”
02 “My Instincts Are the Enemy”
03 “Home Is Where the Haunt Is”
04 “Born To Lose”
05 “I’ve Been So Lost for So Long”
06 “Give Me The Gun”
07 “I Need A Drink (Or Two Or Three)”
08 “Desire Gets In The Way”
09 “Everyone Is Dressed Up”

Tour dates:

10/29 Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre
01/28 New York, NY @ Terminal 5
02/11 London, England @ Shepherd’s Bush Empire
02/25 Los Angeles, CA @ The Ace Hotel Theatre

American Football is out 10/21 on Polyvinyl in the US and Wichita in the UK and Europe. Pre-order it here.

CREDIT: Shervin Lainez

UPDATE: Mike Kinsella shared some background on the album with Pitchfork.

On the creative process:

It wasn’t very organic; we don’t spend a lot of time in a room together just jamming. We have a Dropbox folder, and people can chime in with their ideas. We just kept being like, “That’s cool, let’s do that later” and “We have to write that song!” It’s very different from being young dudes who had band practice three times a week.

On the difference between American Football and Kinsella’s solo project Owen:

I felt more comfortable being sincere, in a way, in American Football, than on Owen records — where I’d be embarrassed to do that as a grown man or something. The other [American Football] record is nothing but sincere. Here, I can just say, “I need you more than ever.” It’s not a lyric I’m sorta proud of, but OK, I actually mean it. It’s sort of embarrassing for me! It’s diary stuff. I wish I could write fun songs, like, “I wanna get laid, I wanna get drunk.”

On whether American Football are competing with all the bands they’ve influenced:

After watching bands try to rock and have this huge release, I feel way more comfortable thinking that it’s cool out to chill out a little bit. With American Football, you can get in your own head and watch us rather than having to be in this sweaty room with all these other people. I don’t know a lot of bands that are content doing that. With Owen, I’ve had people play shows with me and say, “That was so awkward.” No, that’s just how those songs are! There’s a lot of space. American Football is the same way.

On the potential for a third album:

I don’t think it’s like, “Oh shit, we gotta make another record.” It’s more like, “We should make another record now that we know what we’d do that we didn’t remember 15 years ago.” Now that it’s fresh in our brain, we can make an even better one.