‘Football head’ as a term or just pairing of words is very evocative for people my age. Y’all remember old Nickelodeon? Hey Arnold! was one of my favorite cartoons from those days in the ’90s. It has an interesting dichotomy, rooted in reality with some touches of surrealism the likes of which cartoons could only really accomplish, but ultimately focuses on a kid in New York with a(n American) football-shaped head and his adventures in school, with his very diverse group of friends, family, and neighbors, entrenched in modern urban life. It was also profoundly mature for being aimed at kids – I look back on it fondly and can draw a throughline to back then and its influence on me as a person now.
It’s fitting then that I get real nostalgic feelings from listening to Footballhead – the band, one word – bringing that whole sentiment full circle. Given that name, I have to assume until proven otherwise it was a very much intentional to reference Hey Arnold! (and even if they do deny it, it’s still my headcanon). The band started as a solo project from Ryan Nolen of Chicago intended on distilling the poppier side of ’90s/early 2000s punk and radio rock with, to my estimation, some emo thrown in too. It’s music for people well grown up, but who still reminisce on the times pre-9/11, before we learned about capitalism and taxes, when we had dreams and were told they were attainable, when our only stressors were passing some social studies test to make our parents happy or getting all the S-K-A-T-E letters in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater.
The thing is Footballhead‘s approach to music is far more than a nostalgic trip – it’s fundamentally good rock. Before I Die has seven songs, billed as a mini-album, that are wildly loopable. It revels in complex emotionality, one that I think is very specific to my generation given all we’ve collectively been through and are actively going through as thirty-somethings still trying to get a grip on the more nuanced facets of ourselves, relationships, and meaning behind it all. Instrumentation can be shy or assertive depending – “Stupefied” for example is a strong track with a delicate touch. There’s a longing to it, resting in the middle ground of blissful fulfillment and unrequited emptiness. The approachability is quite high as well.
I love “Before I Die” for its catchiness and that anxious, watery, shaky guitar tone you can hear here and there. The melodies smack of old teenage summers doing silly, irreverent shit with your friends (similar to the video for “Stupefied” above) as the lyrics wrestle with the normalcy of life and finding peace in the average as time ticks on. I love the second verse that says, ‘I’ll tell you something/Before I die/I don’t mind if I’m recognized/I’ve got eyes on a bigger prize,’ a simple and effective statement on not getting caught up chasing something that may not be worth it. “All For What?” is a short and sweet driving track with dense guitars and a piercing lyrical refrain. There’s a bisecting scream – the only harsh vocals on the album – in the song’s midsection that really complements the aggression of the guitars and acts as a foil to the more airy verse sections. It feels frustrated, especially with the line ‘can you hear me now?‘ repeating often, like the song is shaking you at the shoulders begging for reciprocation.
If you want Footballhead to channel blink-182 more, they got you covered. Opener “My Direction” has an infectious hook for which there is no cure. It may lack some of the punkier punch that trio packed in their hey day, but the heavily enunciated vocal inflection on that first verse is more than enough to draw that comparison to them or maybe MxPx. It sounds like a sunny day with wind rustling the leaves in trees as you skate past them (on blades or a board – choose your own adventure). “Your Ghost” has similar vibes, but more subtle. It’s a little more forlorn and pensive, lyrically referring to the paranoia of feeling haunted by someone or something from your past. This would have went the fuck off in your friend’s car as you zoom to Taco Bell during high school lunch hour in hopes of making it back in time for your next class (or in my case, maybe just ditching the rest of the day).
Before I Die feels anomalous, a nascent project that’s built on the tired backs of the past in such an adoring fashion. It’s like a cheat code to instant love, an arrow from Cupid’s bow shaped to affect millennials the hardest. While Footballhead are forthcoming about their influences and intent, and that intent is far from avant-garde, it still feels so specific and honed. It sounds like spiked hair and MTV, feels like your first kiss and time with friends you thought you’d be near for decades. Things change, time charges forth, but the memories are always there for better or worse, and Footballhead can soundtrack them if you want.
Just as Hey Arnold! did for me and thousands of other kids in the ’90s, Footballhead make me feel like I’m still growing up because I am. The band certainly muse on that aspect of adulthood, about how we don’t all have things figured out even if we have kids of our own or we are whatever our versions of successful sound like. It’s always worth interrogating what you think you know and believe, and then changing and adding to it as necessary. Maybe people wouldn’t expect to have this sort of reaction from alternative/pop rock, but when it hits, it hits, and if I’ve learned something over my three decades on this planet, it’s to be honest with myself and let myself feel. Before I Die provided just that opportunity.
Band photo by Morgan Paije
