Chicago’s FOOTBALLHEAD have signed to Pure Noise, dropped a ‘Helena’-sized new single and are hitting the road with Silverstein and Story Of The Year…

Words by Felix Bartlett | Nov 12, 2026

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Talk about a full circle moment. Chicago alt-rockers footballhead have signed to Pure Noise Records, and they’ve celebrated by dropping a brand new single, ‘Sharpen Your Words’.

For the band, this one’s personal. They’ve spent their teens, 20s and now 30s loving the bands that shaped the label, and one member even emailed label boss Jake 15 years ago asking for an internship. The response? Thanks, but he was a one-man operation at the time, so circle back later. “Well, here we are,” say the band, who describe the signing as “a dream come true” in every sense.

As for the new track, the band say it picks up right where previous single ‘Weight Of The Truth’ left off, keeping the same sonic flavours but pushing the dynamics much further. The goal was a song that’s instantly recognisable as a footballhead song but clearly built for big stages. Their instructions? “It’s meant to be blasted at maximum volume.”

While wrapping up the recording, the band found themselves dreaming up ideas on the scale of My Chemical Romance’s ‘Helena’ and 30 Seconds To Mars’ ‘The Kill’. They admit they had to keep their expectations in check, but the goal was to capture the same emotions those classics had in their DNA.

If you’re in the States, you can catch footballhead later this month, as they join the Camp Screamo Tour in support of co-headliners Silverstein and Story Of The Year, alongside Stand Atlantic.

FOOTBALLHEAD Camp Screamo Tour dates

November
16 Seattle, WA, Showbox SoDo
17 Spokane, WA, Knitting Factory
18 Portland, OR, McMenamins Crystal Ballroom
19 Wheatland, CA, Hard Rock Live Sacramento
21 Riverside, CA, Riverside Municipal Auditorium
22 Los Angeles, CA, The Wiltern
24 Albuquerque, NM, Sunshine Theater
25 Oklahoma City, OK, The Criterion
28 Atlanta, GA, Tabernacle
29 St. Petersburg, FL, Jannus Live

December
1 Raleigh, NC, The Ritz
2 Baltimore, MD, Nevermore Hall
4 Philadelphia, PA, The Fillmore Philadelphia
5 Cleveland, OH, Agora Theater & Ballroom
8 Milwaukee, WI, The Rave / Eagles Club
9 Royal Oak, MI, Royal Oak Music Theatre
11 Pittsburgh, PA, Stage AE
12 New York, NY, Palladium Times Square
13 Boston, MA, Citizens House of Blues