Drop Nineteens : 1991
In 1991, Boston shoegazers Drop Nineteens recorded a set of cassette demos that they mailed to record labels. Yet when it came time to enter the studio for their 1992 Caroline Records debut, rather than re-record these songs for what would become Delaware, they wrote an entirely new batch of songs, and thus their legacy was born. The songs from those early demos were lost in the sea of time, traded among fans under the title Mayfield, with no mastering for public consumption—until finally arriving in the form of this long-awaited official release, 1991.
Drop Nineteens returned two years ago to release Hard Light, their first album in 30 years, and the maturation process depicted a more tightly coiled indie rock flavor washed in their trademark ambiance. Yet the sound of 1991 displays how Drop Nineteens in their earlier days were more experimental in their approach. The songs provide a murkier dive into trippy shoegaze sounds. It’s evident here that the band not only held their own against their peers at the time but were also ahead of their time.
Despite the raw nature of these demos, if you were to play them today in the manner presented in this album to someone without prior knowledge of the band, they might swear this was a new recording from young upstarts in the current shoegaze revival. What the group does here is unique, even though the years that have passed since its inception give a greater frame of reference for the genre, allowing you to the hear touches of the scene they merged from in the ’90s. On moments like “Kissing the Sea,” Stone Roses come to mind, that is, if Stone Roses were doing drugs with Psychic TV, thanks to the surreal placement of the vocals deeper in the mix.
In these early demos the balance of experimentation and songwriting was still being ironed out, as the arrangement of “Snowbird” took a weird turn. The vocals feel more like another instrument being used for ambiance. You can also hear The Cure’s influence on their role in how the bass and drums interplay. There is more of a dream-pop jangle to “Another Summer,” which comes together with the drums to provide more of a backbone for the vocals to glide over. And while the vocals here are less of a centerpiece for the group than for Cocteau Twins, the inspiration nonetheless shines within the reverb-heavy murk.
“Day Mom” is a little moodier, casting an opaque haze over the song while leaving room for the atmospheric vocal melodies to work. The ambiance grows denser as the vocals fall back further into the wall of sound on “Song For JJ,” which has an even heavier post-punk influence in Steve Zimmerman’s bassline. Drummer Chris Roof lays a more solid foundation for “Back In Our Old Bed” but the guitars go wild with a woozily chaotic sound. “Soapland” is more ethereal even as the drums summon underlying storm clouds beneath its fey wonderment, its vocals faint to the point of being an obscure layer of sound in the mix. Given how much has evolved in recording technology since then, their recently released Hard Light may sound better, but the adventurous nature of youth gives the songs on 1991 reveal a unique charm in addition to showing how much they’ve evolved since then. A vital addition to any shoegaze collection.
Label: Wharf Cat
Year: 2025
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Drop Nineteens : 1991
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