Ahead of their European tour in July, Football Etc present Corner. Whilst many of the song titles are football inspired, that’s as far as the sporting influence goes. Described as the ‘Texan emo trio’, Football Etc produce the type of music that makes you feel very well-disposed towards them.
All the tracks on Corner are about love in one or another and if ‘emo’ is a word that means sensitive sorts worrying about their future, then they definitely are. The album is basically good American indie performed by two female sports fans and one male. Their third album, Corner is confident and delightful.
The album was recorded live over five days and has clarity and freshness. Unlike a lot of British indie, Football Etc have real polish and weight. The songs are marked by jangling guitars, drumming that means what it says and Lindsay Minton’s pure vocals. The lyrics and the sentiments fling you back to your teenage years. ‘Save’ is about drowning in someone’s waves when ‘I forgot how to swim’. Whereas ‘I Believe’ is more sad, referencing needier times. The repeated plea of ‘Will you believe in me?’ has you back living with your parents when it was the opinion of your boyfriend or girlfriend that mattered most.
Many of the tracks are about receiving self-affirmation and feeling misunderstood. ‘Try Out’ is a three minute morsel of sweetness, sensitive without wallowing, an advantage of writing this stuff when you’re a bit older. Like a wise big sister, Minton sings, ‘I don’t care what they say about me’. The reason for her resilience is that people don’t understand what she is really like inside. ‘Space’ has a similar theme, a preoccupation with the perceptions of others. You can only have endless sympathy for young people.
‘Foul’ is a neat little track. Although shorter than three minutes, Football Etc pack a lot in. As well as the Avril Lavigne vocal, the sparse three instruments produce engaging melodies. Of special note on this track is Daniel Hawkins’s drumming. It is relentless and prominent in the mix without overpowering everyone else. On ‘Nutmeg’, they play like The Ramones but with longing in their hearts.
‘U20’ provides a quiet finale. It is another song that is questioning and self-absorbed, ‘I want to know what you think about me now we are over.’ This is the first hit in life when you realise that your teenage love isn’t going to last forever and you aren’t going to grow old together.
Corner is a genuinely lovely album. Play it when you are seventeen or when you are thirty after your first big break-up.
Tattoos are obligatory, especially ones of broken hearts.
https://soundcloud.com/community-records/football-etc-save
Corner will be released on 26th May through Barely Regal Records.
