Drop Nineteens Vinyl Records
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.