Tag: Drop Nineteens 1991

Review: Drop Nineteens – 1991 (2025 reissue)

Back in 1991, Drop Nineteens were recording songs in their dorm rooms and sending them out on cassette to various labels in the U.S. and the U.K. These demos sat unreleased for over three decades and are now finally seeing the light of day with 1991, putting another feather in the band’s cap after touring for the first time in that long in 2023 and releasing their last new album, Hard Light, last year.

1991 (sometimes known as Mayfield in some bootleg releases) is a great slice of time and shoegaze sound. “Daymom” instantly drops you into another world that’s brighter and lusher than the one you’re experiencing right now. The gorgeous guitars, tight beats, and misty vocals are intoxicating. “Song for J.J.” has great rolling beats and more vocals you can’t quite make out but know make you feel good. The thudding bass of “Back in Our Old Bed” reminds me of early Cure tracks, and is largely an instrumental track – which I love. The drop-out in the middle with swirling vocal sounds and guitar effects is a stunner.

Female vocals chant and call in “Soapland,” making you think of sirens luring sailors to either jagged rocks or island paradises. You’re not sure which. The unofficial title track, “Mayfield,” growls like an angry cat with guitars that would make Oliver Ackermann of A Place to Bury Strangers sit up and smile. “Shannon Waves” hits you in waves, and is a pure instrumental that washes over you like a slow-rolling hot tub.

“Kissing the Sea” glistens like sunbeams atop the water at first, and then the drums roll in and almost change the track to an adventurous sail across a secluded bay. It’s not yacht rock by any means, but it’s just as smooth. “Snowbird” sounds like something being sun from atop a snowy mountain, so the title is appropriate. There are no drums on the first half of track, just swirling guitars and synths, but then the song grows into a thumping rocker with buzzsaw guitars everywhere.

Ending with “Another Summer,” 1991 goes out on the fastest notes of the album and is a glimmering rock track that’s perfect for your summer playlists and leaves you optimistic.

This was a stunning debut that had multiple labels scrambling to sign Drop Nineteens. Caroline Records eventually won the skirmish, and Drop Nineteens became legends.

Keep your mind open.

[Drop what you’re doing and go subscribe today.]

[Thanks to Tom at Terrorbird Media.]

Drop Nineteens share “Shannon Waves” from their long-awaited official release of “1991.”

LISTEN TO DROP NINETEEN’S “SHANNON WAVES”
PREORDER DROP NINETEEN’S 1991 HERE

From 1993 to 2023 Drop Nineteens were silent, but in the last year the legendary shoegaze band have returned to the spotlight. Last November, the band released their first album in 30 years, the critically-acclaimed Hard Light and in 2023 the band embarked on their first tour dates since the early 90s while reissuing their 1992 shoegaze masterwork Delaware via Wharf Cat Records.  

On February 7th of 2025, the band will officially release their long-revered precursor to Delaware, an album called 1991. The LP comprises the band’s first two demo sessions which were mailed out via cassette to labels in 1991 finding their way to the UK music press and generating instant buzz and an ensuing feeding frenzy to sign the band. After signing with Caroline Records Drop Nineteens decided to write an entirely new record, Delaware, for their first official release, leaving the songs on 1991 behind, frozen in time. 

Long known as Mayfield (1991) and traded as a bootleg among shoegaze fans who regard it as a classic in its own right, the re-named, remixed and remastered 1991 will be released on vinyl, CD, and streaming services. In October, the band shared a track from the record entitled “Daymom,” and today they are sharing a second preview, the hypnotic “Shannon Waves.”

LISTEN TO DROP NINETEEN’S “SHANNON WAVES”

Swells of layered guitars and buried vocal harmonies adorn these tracks, displaying Drop Nineteens when the comparison to their UK contemporaries like Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine were apt. 1991’s songs, recorded with a low fi charm, show an ambitious young band capable of writing songs filled with texture and hooks, on the eve of their breakthrough with Delaware. 

Of the release, Drop Nineteens leader Greg Ackell says: These songs were written and recorded in 1991 on an 8-track reel to reel largely in our dorm rooms. We called them demos at the time, but now they’re just unreleased Drop Nineteens songs that never benefited from the fidelity of a recording studio. We remastered them, some 33 years later for this release, but they still evoke our infancy as a band.  

After signing to Caroline Records, I suggested to the band we not re-record any of the demos for our debut. It was nothing against the songs. But we were overly confident the way 19-20 year olds typically are, and wanted to challenge ourselves with writing an album from scratch in a short period of time, largely in the studio. That became Delaware. 

Today, the band are also sharing a video for their beloved Delaware album cut “Kick The Tragedy” that features fan submitted footage. The video can be seen HERE.  

PREORDER DROP NINETEEN’S 1991 HERE

Keep your mind open.

[Drop your address in the subscription box.]

[Thanks to Tom at Terrorbird Media.]