It was almost 30 years ago when Drop Nineteens disbanded. They had released their shoegaze masterpiece Delaware in 1992, and shared stages with bands like Radiohead, Hole, Blur, PJ Harvey and Smashing Pumpkins. They went from being teenagers in Boston to mid-twenty-somethings with videos on MTV, sessions on the BBC, world tours and numerous festival appearances under their belt. So when Drop Nineteens ceased to be, their lead singer and songwriter Greg Ackell felt content. He had the rest of his life in front of him to figure out what he wanted to do. Music was a closed chapter.
In the decades that followed, despite the band’s turn away from the spotlight, Drop Nineteens’ legacy grew. Delaware came to be considered a classic of the genre, landing on lists of the greatest shoegaze albums of all time, with Pitchfork saying that “Delawareset Drop Nineteens squarely in a league of their own” on their run down of the genre’s best albums. The band’s catalog also found a new life on streaming, where tracks like “Winona” and “Kick The Tragedy” have racked up millions of streams and reached a new audience, becoming a touchstone influence for the new wave of American shoegaze.
It was in this context that in 2021 a friend from the band’s early days got Ackell on the phone to suggest making some music together, just to see how it felt. Instead of shutting it down like he had been doing over the years, he decided to entertain the prospect. For the first time in nearly 30 years, he picked up a guitar with intent.
Today, Drop Nineteens are announcing their official return. The full original line up of Ackell, Steve Zimmerman, Paula Kelley, Motohiro Yasue, and Peter Koeplin has reunited to create a new album entitled Hard Light (out November 3rd on Wharf Cat Records), the band’s 3rd official LP and the spiritual successor to Delaware. To mark the announce the band are sharing the first single from the album, a track called “Scapa Flow”, and Ackell and Kelley have spoken to Stereogum about the band’s history, their unlikely reunion, and their comeback LP.
| “The intent on Delaware was to reflect that time in our lives, which I think it did accurately,” says Ackell. “Having considered Delaware before embarking on Hard Light, we wanted to make an honest, reflective album representing who we are now, which is, well, older. “I’ve been struggling to find an answer to the question ‘why now?’ What was the catalyst for getting back together after so long? The best answer I can come up with is this was the first moment in my life since stopping making music that I got curious to hear what Drop Nineteens might sound like now. And there was only one way to find out!” In support of the new LP Drop Nineteens are announcing a series of fall tour dates in major US markets with support from Horse Jumper of Love, Greg Mendez and Winter.Full details can be found below. |
| Drop Nineteens Hard Light is available for preorder HERE |
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[Thanks to Tom at Terrorbird Media.]