Last week, American Football hinted that they were about to announce some new music with a teaser clip captioned “track one,” featuring a pretty acoustic guitar instrumental. I’ll be revoking my emo card now, because I somehow didn’t catch that that was a “Never Meant” cover. It’s by Iron & Wine, and it appears on an upcoming track-by-track covers album celebrating the 25th anniversary of American Football’s classic debut LP.

American Football (Covers) arrives this October, along with a new remaster of the original 1999 album. Other guests include Ethel Cain’s take on “For Sure,” Manchester Orchestra covering “Stay Home,” Blondshell’s rendition of “The Summer Ends,” John McEntire on “The One With The Wurlitzer,” and more.

“My neighbor [producer] Brad Cook and I have been circling each other hoping to work on something for a bit,” Iron & Wine’s Sam Beam says in a press release. “When I was asked about this project, it felt like the perfect opportunity. Especially a song that I knew meant a lot to American Football’s fans. Honored to be part of this and hoping we did it justice.”

Meanwhile, American Football’s Steve Holmes adds: “When the first Iron & Wine record came out, it threaded the needle between Townes Van Zandt and Elliott Smith. It felt like if Nick Drake grew up with us listening to Fugazi before pivoting to making bedroom art folk. In other words, it was exactly what we would have been making if our first record came out when we were 28 instead of 22. Sam Beam is an incredible songwriter and interpreter of song, and it is beyond flattering that he would take the time to interpret one of ours.”

Below, you can hear Beam’s full “Never Meant” cover and see the full American Football (Covers) tracklist.

TRACKLIST:
01 Iron & Wine – “Never Meant”
02 Blondshell – “The Summer Ends”
03 Novo Amor & Lowswimmer – “Honestly?”
04 Ethel Cain – “For Sure”
05 Yvette Young – “You Know I Should Be Leaving Soon”
06 Girl Ultra – “But The Regrets Are Killing Me”
07 M.A.G.S. – “I’ll See You When We’re Both Not So Emotional”
08 Manchester Orchestra – “Stay Home”
09 John McEntire – “The One With The Wurlitzer”

American Football (Covers) and American Football (25th Anniversary Edition) are both out 10/18 via Polyvinyl.