#drop nineteens

“Mayfield” opened the door, erupting out of a wind tunnel here, with scrambling drums, a wall of three guitars, and vocals that slip in and out of the noise-storm, hitting an ethereal harmony or a yearning chorus, then sinking back into a mass of static and hum.Yet other songs were arguably even stronger, the wheeling, spiralling “Shannon Waves,” the dream pop delicate “Kissing the Sea” which turned the mic over to Paula Kelly. A formidable guitarist and the group’s only female member, her haunted vocal sweetness plays counterpart to Ackell’s more conventional Brit pop romanticism. 

A second cassette demo, called The Summer Session, is also included here, this one with Hannah Yampolsky singing (Kelly was out touring with another band). Here, a few months after the Mayfield demo, the band’s attack is sharper and more assured, but the singing dissolves into the ether. “Daymom,” follows a clanking, ominous bassline, not so different from the one that propels the Cure’s “Fascination Street.” The vocal sound is pretty but frictionless; all atmosphere no forward motion.“Soapland,” too, showcases some driving percussion and slashing guitars, but doesn’t really cohere into a legible song. The band was missing Kelly—and she rejoined soon after this second set of demos.

These demos were never reworked into album versions.The band started fresh when it recorded its best-known album Delaware. As recently as a year ago, hardcore fans were still trading tips about bootlegs copies and YouTube versions of this material, so it’s great to have it in a readily accessible format. Yet ultimately, the songs have a provisional quality, provocatively lovely but elusive and unfinished.If you love shoegaze or the Drop Nineteens or both, though, this is well worth checking out.