Midwest emo pioneers American Football have released their new single, “No Feeling,” featuring backing vocals from Turnstile frontman Brendan Yates. The track arrives as the second preview of American Football’s upcoming self-titled fourth album, commonly referred to as LP4, due May 1 via Polyvinyl. According to SPIN, the collaboration came together quickly: the band casually invited Yates to drop by producer Sonny DiPerri’s L.A. studio the next day, where he recorded his parts in a single session.
Mike Kinsella, the group’s frontman, told Clash Magazine that he initially imagined Yates as one voice among many in a gang-vocal call-and-response chorus. “As soon as he started singing it,” Kinsella said, “all of our jaws dropped, and we were all looking at each other like, ‘Oh shit! THAT’S the dude from Turnstile!’ His voice is so singular, and once he sang the part in his range, it was clear that the part now belonged to him and him alone.” That shift gives the song an unexpected, layered intensity that bridges American Football’s atmospheric emo with the hardcore urgency that has made Turnstile one of rock’s most visible crossover bands.
How the Song and Video Came Together
LP4 arrives seven years after American Football’s last full-length, LP3, and continues the band’s evolution from cult 1990s emo touchstones into a more expansive, studio-focused project. “No Feeling” was produced by Sonny DiPerri, who has worked with acts ranging from Animal Collective to Nine Inch Nails, and the track gradually builds from chiming, interwoven guitars into a soaring chorus layered with Yates’ harmonies.
The single comes with a hallucinatory animated video directed by Cady Buche and Travis Barron of Unlimited Time Only. As SPIN reports, the clip opens on a sunken ship inhabited by ghostly creatures dancing and celebrating their underwater afterlife, until a submarine pulls them to the surface and into fresh air—flipping the usual “going down with the ship” narrative into something more disorienting and hopeful. The directors say they were drawn to the song’s mix of beauty and unease, which reminded them of mysterious places like outer space or the ocean floor—beautiful, but also “kind of freaky.”
In addition to Yates, LP4 features guest appearances from Rainer Maria vocalist Caithlin De Marrais and Wisp’s Natalie R. Lu, signaling that American Football are leaning into collaborations more than ever. BrooklynVegan notes that the band has already announced an extensive world tour supporting the record, with dates beginning May 15 in Denver and running through August 16 in Minneapolis.
The SoCal Connection
Though the collaboration itself was recorded in Los Angeles, the bigger connection for Southern California fans is that American Football will bring LP4 on the road here later this spring. The band has two confirmed stops in the region: May 23 at The Wiltern in Los Angeles and May 24 at The Observatory North Park in San Diego. Those shows will give local fans a chance to hear how “No Feeling” sits alongside the rest of the new material—and whether any of the band’s guests turn up onstage.
For a scene that has long embraced both emo’s melodic introspection and hardcore’s physical energy, the pairing is more natural than it might sound at first glance. Los Angeles has been a key touring hub for Turnstile’s rise over the last decade, and the city’s venues have repeatedly proven they can draw mixed crowds that move equally to twinkling guitars and circle pits. That cross-pollination makes the collaboration feel less like a novelty and more like a logical extension of how fans actually listen.
Looking ahead, the release of “No Feeling” sets up LP4 as one of the more anticipated rock albums of early 2026. With the record out May 1 and the band’s world tour already mapped out, American Football appear ready to step back into the spotlight with a lineup of guests that underscores how porous the boundaries between emo, indie rock, and hardcore have become.
Last updated April 12, 2026.
Sources: Clash Magazine, Spin, NME, Line of Best Fit, Brooklyn Vegan, Pitchfork News, Stereogum, Consequence
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