American Football Delivers Stripped-Down Cover of The Cure’s “Boys Don’t Cry” on SiriusXM

American Football performed an acoustic rendition of The Cure’s classic song “Boys Don’t Cry” for SiriusXM.

The emo band’s melancholy, stripped-down performance was part of the inaugural session for SiriusXMU , which airs tonight, October 7th, at 9:00 p.m. Serving as their first-ever acoustic performance as a full band (and their second cover song, following a 2021 rendition of Mazzy Star’s “Fade Into You”), American Football’s take on the song is much more solemn and understated; it also includes a nod to their beloved 1999 song “Never Meant.” “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,” American Football frontman Mike Kinsella said.

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“It just seemed like the perfect fit for a bunch of melodically-driven, emotionally available grown men to deconstruct and try to make our own. 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.” Watch the band’s cover below. American Football have a few 2026 tour dates left on the docket, including some December shows in the US with she’s green. Get tickets to see them here .

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_Originally reported by [Consequence](https://consequence.net/2026/10/american-football-the-cure-boys-dont-cry-cover-siriusxm-watch/)._