American Football have released two recordings from their acoustic Nashville session: “Wake Her Up” and a cover of The Cure’s “Boys Don’t Cry.” The pair arrived on October 14, months after the session was recorded during a break in the band’s No Feeling Tour. It gives listeners a compact new release alongside this year’s LP4.
The two-song running order starts with “Wake Her Up,” at five minutes and thirty-six seconds, then moves to the four-minute, thirty-two-second Cure cover. Together they make ten minutes and eight seconds. That is enough time for a distinct session, without suggesting there is another full American Football album to add to the catalogue.
The interesting detail is in the musicians listed. Steve Lamos plays trumpet on both songs, while Cory Bracken is credited with synth and glockenspiel. Guitars come from Steve Holmes and Mike Kinsella, with Nate Kinsella on bass. Mike Garzón moves between guitar and additional vocals on “Wake Her Up” and percussion and additional vocals on “Boys Don’t Cry.” Justine Fallon contributes vocals to “Wake Her Up” too.
An acoustic billing can make people picture one singer and one guitar. These credits describe something else: the touring group finding another arrangement for the music. For us, that makes the session worth approaching as an ensemble performance. The change of setting leaves room to follow the trumpet or glockenspiel, rather than assume that every part has simply been removed.
“Wake Her Up” also offers a direct comparison with LP4, released on May 1. The album version is track seven, runs five minutes and twenty seconds and carries a Wisp feature. The session version is sixteen seconds longer and has its own vocal credits. Those details do not establish which recording is better. They do establish that this is a new performance of the song, rather than the album audio under a fresh cover.
The broader LP4 guest list includes Brendan Yates on “No Feeling.” Readers who came to him through Turnstile’s recent television debut have another path to explore here: a different band, another setting and a separate collaboration. Yates is not listed among the musicians on the new two-track session. Keeping those credits apart helps anyone following a favourite singer across releases.
We would use “Wake Her Up” as the starting point, since its studio counterpart gives a clear point of reference. Then let the Cure cover stand as the second half of the release. There is no need to turn two songs into a verdict on an entire tour. The news is smaller and more useful than that: an acoustic session now has its own place in the band’s recorded output.
