American Football return with first new song in eight years, "Bad Moons"

"Bad Moons" arrives alongside the formal announcement of LP4, which the band revealed would be released in May in a social media post. Originally written to be two separate songs, "Bad Moons", produced by Sonny DiPerri (DIIV, julie, These New Puritans" comes in at an an eight minute runtime, and is accompanied by a slow-motion montage music video directed by Alex Acy & Rémi Belleville.

Speaking about the track, singer-guitarist Mike Kinsella says: “‘Bad Moons’ is actually a Frankenstein of two different demos we’d been passing around for quite a while: one playful, with children playing and toy-pianos plinking; one brooding, with guitars screeching and drums bombasting. I had already been singing the “(…) in the dark” mantra over the latter, so the biggest challenge for me was thematically bridging the innocence and buoyancy of the first act with the deep despair of the second. I decided to begin the song as a child. Or, rather…two. Stacked up in a single trench coat; secretly, reluctantly living the life of a grown man, accruing all of his missteps and guilt along the way. By the end, these missteps are almost spilling out of the boys. A cathartic confession, hopefully at least somewhat relatable to anyone listening who’s ever lived a life.”

On the inspiration behind the music video, Acy adds: "I think part of growing up is realizing you can only become more empathetic with others once you become empathetic with yourself. I think boys often have a harder time grasping this, which leads to a lot of dumb & regrettable actions. Rémi & I grew up together and felt like we could connect around this concept from a shared & honest point of view. Quebec, where we grew up & the Midwest feel very similar in a lot of ways. It only felt right to anchor the video in rural Canada.”