Entertainment · Music · 2 hrs ago
American Football release their stripped-back cover of The Cure’s ‘Boys Don’t Cry’
American Football have officially released a stripped-back cover of The Cure’s ‘Boys Don’t Cry’.
The band first performed it on SiriusXMU earlier this summer, and their version slows the song down and adds a trumpet solo.
The Cure’s Robert Smith praised the cover as heartfelt and beautiful.
The release also includes an acoustic version of American Football’s song ‘Wake Her Up’, recorded in the same session.
The band’s next tour leg begins in Chile on November 28 and continues through South America and the United States.
One dollar from each ticket sold will support groups protecting immigrant rights and helping migrants, refugees and deportees.
American Football have officially released a stripped-back cover of The Cure’s 1979 song “Boys Don’t Cry.”
The release also includes an acoustic version of the band’s song “Wake Her Up.”
The cover was praised by The Cure frontman Robert Smith.
American Football first performed the cover during a SiriusXMU appearance earlier in the summer.
The release arrives ahead of the next leg of the band’s No Feeling World Tour.
- Who
- American Football released the cover. The Cure frontman Robert Smith praised it.
- What
- The band officially released its stripped-back cover of “Boys Don’t Cry,” alongside an acoustic version of “Wake Her Up.
- When
- October 14, 2026.
- Where
- The tracks are available to stream. The cover was first performed on SiriusXMU.
- Why
- Frontman Mike Kinsella said The Cure and “Boys Don’t Cry” had been important to his development as a songwriter and as a man.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
American Football first performed the cover during their SiriusXMU debut.
American Football officially released the cover and the acoustic version of “Wake Her Up” for streaming.
The next leg of the band’s tour is scheduled to begin in Santiago, Chile.
- Original song
- Boys Don’t Cry,” released in 1979
- Release
- Wake Her Up / Boys Don’t Cry (SiriusXM Session)
- First performance
- SiriusXMU, earlier in summer 2026
- Tour opening date
- November 28, 2026
- Tour opening city
- Santiago, Chile
What people are saying
One of the most heartfelt and beautiful Cure covers I have ever heard
The Cure, and specifically ‘Boys Don’t Cry’, has not only been fundamental to my growth as a songwriter but as much or more so on my development as a man
We replaced the jangle with some spindly guitars, slowed it down quite a bit, and added a mournful trumpet solo, but the plain-spoken adolescent longing remains as resonant as ever.