American Football are celebrating their iconic eponymous debut with a 25th anniversary edition as well as a covers album. So far, we’ve heard folk stalwart Iron & Wine’s take on the emo band’s beloved tune “Never Meant,” and now alt-pop sensation Ethel Cain is unleashing her haunting, gorgeous rendition of “For Sure.”
“I knew I wanted to do ‘For Sure’ immediately,” Cain said, continuing:
It’s always stood out to me every time I spin the record, and I knew exactly how I wanted to translate it into my sound. My favorite part of the entire track is the sound of the train going by the apartment I lived in back in Pennsylvania, stretched out like a synth at the beginning and end. American Football is one of those bands that really marked such a moment in time with their debut record, a mark with so much longevity that it found me the same way at 20 years old that I imagine it found everyone else the day it was first released: as an instant classic. Their sonic storytelling has inspired me in more ways than I can count over the years, so being asked to contribute to this covers edition was truly an honor. American Football forever.
American Football’s Steve Lamos explained about the track, “It’s a simple-but-powerful statement on change and uncertainty that still rings as true for me in middle age as it did when I was in my mid-20s. It also showcases some of my all-time favorite Mike vocals: the ‘ooooohs’ and ‘aaaaahs’ of ‘June seems / too late / delayed / maybe for the better’ are, to my mind, perfection. Ethel Cain has somehow made me like this track even more than I already did.”
He added that he found out about Cain from his job as a college professor. “[One of my students] wrote a brilliant paper explaining how Cain’s ‘American Teenager’ created a lush sonic landscape through textural elements, careful pacing, and plaintive lyrics,” he said. “Cain bathes ‘For Sure’ here in similar luxury. She takes her time with each note, each phrase, and each vowel. In the process, she manages to intensify the ache and longing of the original: the ‘ooooohs’ and ‘aaaaahs’ echo almost endlessly here.”
Below, watch the music video for her cover, shot by Cain herself, and listen to American Football’s original.
American Football (Covers) and American Football (25th Anniversary Edition) are both out 10/18 via Polyvinyl.
