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Drop Nineteens

One of America's first shoegaze bands, Drop Nineteens' eclectic take on the style has proven to be remarkably enduring. While the Boston-based group was indebted to U.K. pioneers like My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive, hints of Pixies' crunchy pop and the roaring, feedback-laden outbursts of Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr. could be heard on 1992's debut Delaware, which they recorded while they were still college students. Drop Nineteens' swift rise to prominence led to lineup changes that, coupled with their resistance to being pigeonholed, resulted in the drastically different alt-rock sound of 1993's National Coma. Though the band broke up in the wake of that album's disappointing performance, Delaware's reputation grew over the years. Thanks to streaming services, Drop Nineteens gained an enthusiastic new audience, spurring them to reunite and bridge generations of shoegaze sounds with 2023's Hard Light. The group formed in 1990 at Boston University, when singer/songwriter/guitarist Greg Ackell reconnected with drummer Chris Roof, who had played in a few bands with Ackell when they attended Northfield Mount Hermon School. Guitarist Motohiro Yasue and bassist Steve Zimmerman rounded out the initial lineup of the group -- which went by the name In April Rain -- with guitarist/vocalist Paula Kelley appearing as a guest musician. In the basements of frat houses and dormitories, the band rehearsed and wrote songs influenced by My Bloody Valentine, the Cure, Sonic Youth, New Order, and Pixies among others. Eventually, they changed their name to Drop Nineteens after Ackell's childhood memories of dropping things off the terrace of the 19th floor apartment where he was raised. In 1991, Drop Nineteens recorded Mayfield, a set of demos that Ackell sent to local college radio stations and labels including Creation and 4AD. Not only did the demo result in the band booking their first-ever gig at the University of New Hampshire, it was named Single of the Week by Melody Maker. Drop Nineteens continued their momentum by recording the Summer Sessions EP, a collection of more atmospheric songs intended to keep label attention on the band. It worked: Drop Nineteens signed to Caroline Records, which issued the group's debut album, Delaware, in June 1992. Recorded at Boston's Cyclorama Building in between the bandmembers' studies, the album featured all-new songs and studio experiments that ranged from shoegaze to fuzzy guitar pop to scorching tracks that bordered on post-hardcore. Praised by the British press for its ferocious version of shoegaze, Delaware reached number five on the U.K. Independent Albums Chart, and Drop Nineteens played to crowds of thousands in the U.K. In the U.S., Delaware's single "Winona" received airplay on MTV's 120 Minutes, but the band's shows ranged from playing for a handful of people to a triumphant gig at Sub Pop's Vermonstress festival. Before embarking on a European tour in late 1992, Drop Nineteens released the Your Aquarium EP, which featured a louder version of the Delaware track as well as a cover of Barry Manilow's "Mandy." While on tour, Kelley -- who became a full member of Drop Nineteens when the band started talking to labels -- felt isolated and left the group once the shows were done. Roof departed soon after, and the band brought on vocalist/guitarist Megan Gilbert and drummer Pete Koeplin as replacements. After Drop Nineteens' Atlanta date supporting Smashing Pumpkins in March 1993, Yasue quit, with Koeplin's cousin Justin Crosby taking over lead guitar duties. Reflecting their lineup changes -- and their desire to avoid more comparisons to bands like My Bloody Valentine -- Drop Nineteens opted for a more straightforward alt-rock sound for their second album, October 1993's National Coma. The self-produced effort met with lukewarm reviews, and after the tour for the album ended that December, Gilbert, Crosby, and Zimmerman left the band. With Ackell as Drop Nineteens' sole remaining founding member, he and Koeplin recruited bassist Craig Rich to record more demos in hopes of another label deal, but the band ultimately called it quits in 1995. After Drop Nineteens' breakup, Ackell, Koeplin, Rich, and keyboardist Chris Coates recorded as Fidel. Though this group recorded an album's worth of songs, only "Randy Bean" was released as part of the 1996 compilation Wicked Deluxe. Eventually, Ackell stepped away from music, opting to sell flowers instead. Kelley led the bands Hot Rod and Boy Wonder in the '90s, then pursued a solo career and became a composer/arranger for film and television; Kopelin worked with Boston-area acts such as the Chris Brokaw Band; and Gilbert played with the New York duo La Marcha. In 2009, Cherry Red -- one of the labels that wanted to sign Drop Nineteens in the '90s -- reissued Delaware with four bonus tracks from Your Aquarium. As streaming music grew in popularity, so did Drop Nineteens' songs, with "Winona" and other Delaware tracks garnering millions of streams. By the early 2020s, Ackell was interested in writing new Drop Nineteens songs and began composing as soon as Zimmerman sent him a new guitar (he hadn't owned one in years). After hearing Ackell's demos, Kelley was in, with Yasue and Koeplin completing the lineup. Arriving in November 2023 on Wharf Cat, Hard Light paired Delaware's shoegaze roots with more considered songwriting.
© Heather Phares /TiVo

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9 Album, -en • Geordnet nach Bestseller

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