After 30 years, Drop Nineteens returned to Metro Chicago, bringing us back to the early 90’s for a night of hazy and ambient shoegaze on Oct. 21, 2024.

Article by Mira Henchi, Photos by Inés Gomez

The Boston five-piece band formed initially in 1990 when its members were students at Boston University. Their debut album, Delaware (1992), is considered as a staple in the shoegaze genre, named as one of the top 50 shoegaze albums by Pitchfork in 2016. In the UK, they were a sensation, performing with world-famous groups like Radiohead. The band split up after a whirl-wind five years with their final show as a joint-headline alongside Blur on Nov. 3, 1993 at Metro.

Now, almost 31 years later, they are back.

“I thought I recognized you,” lead-singer and guitarist Greg Ackell said to the audience jokingly after the opening song, “Delaware”.

Ackell definitely would not have recognized anyone — the crowd consisted mainly of teens and people in their twenties and thirties. After all, we’re currently experiencing a shoegaze renaissance. Fuelled by TikTok, shoegaze is one of many otherwise dormant genres being unearthed and becoming increasingly popular. The genre is thriving with rising younger bands such as julie, They Are Gutting a Body of Water and feeble little horse making waves while older bands like Slowdive are getting back together and selling out shows.

Drop Nineteens performed an array of songs from their most recent album, Hard Light (2023), including “Gal,” a melancholic piece with reverberant singing. The volume rose again with “Mayfield,” which featured Paula Kelley’s (singer, pianist, and guitarist) hauntingly high vocals in the background.

A fan-favorite was “Winona” with its iconic droning guitar and shouty lyrics. Among others played were unreleased demo “Shannon Waves”, a fluid and meandering piece with no singing, and “The Price Was High,” featuring Kelley’s vocals over a catchy, repetitive bassline. The upbeat acoustic-guitar song “Tarantula” was dedicated to Olivia O., the opener who had been touring with the band, with nostalgic lyrics like “and we feel like it’s after school” / “in the afternoon in the afterlife.”

I was surprised to hear the band’s cover of “White Dress” by Lana Del Rey, released this year. The original whispery vocals and soft piano were transformed into a sped-up, assertive song. I really enjoyed Kelley’s section within the song — her vocals in the second verse and bridge were enchanting.

After tentatively disappearing off-stage for several minutes, the band returned for the final song — “Kick the Tragedy”. Audience members whipped out their phones to record the almost nine-minute piece which features no lyrics but instead includes Kelly giving a monologue about her teenage-life at the six-minute-mark. “Kick the Tragedy” is repetitive, to say the least. Its beautiful, layered noise left the audience in a dazed trance.

As the song neared an end, each band member stopped playing and departed one-by-one. Drummer Pete Koeplin was the last one standing; his beaming smile was testament to the band’s overall joy in being back on stage after their long hiatus.

Overall, Drop Nineteens’ long-awaited return to Metro was a triumphant showcase of the band’s past discography and new material. Furthermore, it was amazing to see the reunion of old fans and the new generation of shoegaze-lovers in the crowd. I left the venue feeling grateful for having witnessed a band so timeless!