American Football turns Wake Her Up into a dream film

American Football is taking their latest sonic offering, LP4, and giving it a truly cinematic companion with the release of the video for “Wake Her Up.” This track is one of the band’s most overtly melodic and pop-leaning recordings, with frontman Mike Kinsella joking that it channels their best impression of The Smiths.

The new music video is as ambitious as the song itself. It features a dreamlike sequence where Kinsella and Wisp engage in nocturnal bicycle rides through Los Angeles, interwoven with projected images of Paris, blurring geographical lines into a profound meditation on longing and impossible connection.

The vision behind this visual feast was steered by a stellar creative team, including legendary skate filmmaker Ty Evans, Oscar-winning American Fiction director Cord Jefferson, and acclaimed photographer Atiba Jefferson. They brought together practical effects and cutting-edge technology to produce something entirely new.

The collaboration was born from a simple musical spark. Kinsella explained that the melodic line, “wake her up,” existed for some time before they found the perfect vocal pairing. When they discovered Wisp’s song, they instantly knew she had to sing the line, shifting the lyrical focus from the melody itself to the story behind it—the tale of the boy who fell in love with the girl in the River Seine.

For Evans, the goal was to create a visual experience that was “both cinematic and experimental.” Jefferson, who previously worked with the band on their beloved “Uncomfortably Numb” video and introduced the members to Turnstile frontman Brendan Yates, noted that the projected imagery became both the background and key light on top of the subjects, calling the technique the “truly best combo ever.”

Jefferson also shared that the project was a deeply personal milestone. Having admired American Football since discovering their first record in college radio, he described helping bring this video to life as a dream come true.

The release of the video coincides with American Football launching the Midwest leg of its 2026 world tour on Friday, August 7th, following successful runs across North America, Europe, and Asia. The band recently reunited with Wisp for a live performance of “Wake Her Up” in Los Angeles at the Wiltern Theatre, which included surprise appearances from Williams for “Uncomfortably Numb” and Rainer Maria’s Caithlin De Marrais for “Blood On My Blood.”

The tour continues through North and Latin America for the remainder of the year, featuring support from Nine Perfect Lives, Circling Girl, Harmless, Alameda, and she’s green, with a special hometown appearance by Rainer Maria in Chicago.