Year One Demos

Year One Demos
EP demo by American Football
Released	December 13, 2019 (2019-12-13)
Recorded	May 1997
Genre	Emo
Length	19:47
Language	English
Label	Polyvinyl
American Football chronology
American Football (2019) Year One Demos (2019) Rare Symmetry / Fade Into You (2021)

Year One Demos is a 2019 EP from American emo and math rock band American Football. The recordings were made by drummer Steve Lamos' father shortly after the band formed and were rediscovered several years later; the EP was released to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the band's full-length, self-titled debut album.^[1]

Writing for Pitchfork Media, Nina Corcoran scored this release a 7.6 out of 10, writing that the "demos succeed at where finished recordings fail is their ability to convey the warmth of an idea’s spark".^[2] Kevin Korber of Spectrum Culture also gave a positive review, writing that "hearing Year One Demos in this context is kind of revelatory" for giving insight to the band's early evolution as a musical project and summing up the release as "an essential listen for die-hard fans of the band" that is "more substantial than its length or its status as a collection of demos would suggest".^[3]

1. "Five Silent Miles" (Demo) – 4:18
2. "Song #1" / "Song #2"" (Demo) – 6:41
3. "The Summer Ends" (Demo) – 4:47
4. "For Sure" (Demo) – 4:01

American Football

• Steve Holmes – guitar (tracks 1-4), liner notes
• Mike Kinsella – guitar (tracks 1-3), bass guitar (tracks 4)
• Steve Lamos – drums (tracks 1-4), drum machine (tracks 4), trumpet (tracks 2, 4)

Additional personnel

• Steve Fallone – mastering at Sterling Sound
• Jerrod Landon Porter – layout
• Max Stern – cover
• Mitchell Wojcik – photography

• List of 2019 albums

• Year One Demos at Discogs (list of releases)
• Year One Demos at MusicBrainz (list of releases)