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Hard Light is Proof That Drop Nineteens Aren’t One-Hit Wonders

The Boston shoegaze pioneers return nearly 30 years after their initial dissolution with an album spiritually connected to their beloved debut.

By Devon Chodzin  |  November 3, 2023 | 11:30am
Music Reviews Drop Nineteens
Hard Light is Proof That Drop Nineteens Aren’t One-Hit Wonders

This was never supposed to happen. After a beautiful and sometimes tumultuous run, Massachussetts quintet Drop Nineteens had completed its brief life cycle and founding singer Greg Ackell stepped back from music entirely, finding himself content with what the band had accomplished. And why shouldn’t he? The Boston University students had become rockstars seemingly overnight. Radiohead opened for them, and their 1992 album Delaware ensconced them in shoegazing history. But come 2021, Ackell felt a question gnawing at his mind: “What does a modern Drop Nineteens song sound like?” Ackell, with the help of co-vocalist Paula Kelley, bassist Steve Zimmerman, guitarist Motohiro Yasue and drummer Peter Koeplin, embarked on a quest to answer that question. The resulting album, Hard Light, is elating, exhibiting the same sensibilities of Delaware with emotional depth and sonic maturation that makes it feel as if Drop Nineteens never left the scene.

Just as 1992’s Delaware casts a long shadow over the fan’s memories, the album cast a long shadow over the composition of Hard Light. The band, just as collaborative in their songwriting as ever, sought out a sound that acts as a spiritual sibling to their legendary debut without a simple copy and paste. Hard Light certainly stands on its own; the songs are meticulous, dreamy but not lackadaisical, hazy but not occluded. Delaware was a successful attempt to capture lightning in a bottle through in-the-moment experiments revealing the band’s reverence for all things 4AD. It was confessional, sometimes even angsty. Hard Light benefits from a version of Drop Nineteens that can take their time composing just the right rock songs, even if that means the album lacks certain spikes that were once immense on their debut. That said, it’s hard to miss those spikes when the Hard Light sound is so arresting.

The album has plenty of guitar. While Ackell and Kelley’s vocals, from their lyrics to their interplay, are a world unto themselves, it’s hard to look away from the gnarly chord formations that swell and swirl. The title track—which also serves as the opener—offers a sonorous canon of guitars flashing above like celestial bodies before Ackell and Kelley enter in hushed repetition: “Time, it’s of the essence.” Lead single “Scapa Flow” enters with a slacker riff that feels lifted from Lush-era Snail Mail before erupting into syncopated conflagration. “Rose With Smoke” is all about the processed guitar, plodding its way through in a psychedelic march. Then there are more closely held lines, like those that open “T,” the seven-and-a-half-minute closer and one of two love songs dedicated to Ackell’s girlfriend. The other, “Tarantula,” is on the uptempo side, brushing against post-punk, with a gorgeous optimism heard in the voice, the guitars and the drums.

One of the best parts of the Drop Nineteens experience is the warmth shared between Ackell and Kelley’s vocals, which could not sound more different but, still, arrive immensely in sync. Kelley’s voice is front and center on “The Price Was High,” sounding even more ethereal than it previously did on Delaware: “In a roundabout sway / Not a word / Not a sound / All’s forgiven anyway.” She’s even more hypnotic on their cover of The Clientele’s “Policeman Getting Lost.” It’s one of the most true-to-original covers out there, and it suits Kelley’s voice especially well. It also stands out starkly from the rest of the album without sounding too far off-base, offering a dose of a totally different sound before Drop Nineteens return to their romantic shoegaze trademark. The interplay and harmony between Ackell and Kelley on “T” grants it the emotional depth it seeks. When Ackell’s voice stands alone, as it does on “Lookout,” he has the same soft sincerity of Trevor Powers with just as much guile.

So, what does a modern Drop Nineteens song sound like? If their Delaware follow-up National Coma is to be believed, a modern Drop Nineteens song can sound like, well, anything. Hard Light’s answer to the initial question should elicit a sigh of relief: A modern Drop Nineteens song sounds like a grown-up Delaware track. The album’s 11 tracks play to the band’s strong suits as they return from an extended hiatus, dwelling in shoegaze territory while adding a handful of excursions into baroque pop and post-punk that prove the band has a strong compositional foundation. It’s a smoother ride than Delaware, for better or for worse, but not without edges. Drop Nineteens have not lost all of their style; if anything, they’ve gained some finesse. It was never supposed to happen, but we should be glad that it has.

Devon Chodzin is a critic and urban planner with bylines at Aquarium Drunkard, Bandcamp Daily, Slumber Mag and more. He is currently a student in Philadelphia. He lives on Twitter @bigugly.

 
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