Drop Nineteens return after a three-decade hiatus with "Scapa Flow"

Drop Nineteens released their shoegaze masterpiece Delaware in 1992, and shared stages with bands like Radiohead, Hole, Blur, PJ Harvey and Smashing Pumpkins. When they disbanded, lead singer and songwriter Greg Ackell felt content.

In 2021 a friend from the band’s early days got Ackell on the phone to suggest making some music together, just to see how it felt. Instead of shutting it down like he had been doing over the years, he decided to entertain the prospect, for the first time in nearly 30 years.

Today, Drop Nineteens are announcing their official return. The full original line up of Ackell, Steve Zimmerman, Paula Kelley, Motohiro Yasue, and Peter Koeplin has reunited to create a new album entitled Hard Light.

To mark the announce the band are sharing the first single from the album, “Scapa Flow”, and Ackell and Kelley spoke to Stereogum about the band’s history. “The one thing I was certain of, more than anything in my life, was that I would never make music again,” Ackell stressed. “I knew that more than I knew anything. And having now come back, it just goes to show me — that I know nothing!”

“The intent on Delaware was to reflect that time in our lives, which I think it did accurately," he continued. "Having considered Delaware before embarking on Hard Light, we wanted to make an honest, reflective album representing who we are now, which is, well, older.

"I’ve been struggling to find an answer to the question 'why now?' What was the catalyst for getting back together after so long? The best answer I can come up with is this was the first moment in my life since stopping making music that I got curious to hear what Drop Nineteens might sound like now. And there was only one way to find out!”

Tracklist:

1. Hard Light
2. Scapa Flow
3. Gal
4. Tarantula
5. The Price Was High
6. Rose With Smoke
7. A Hitch
8. Lookout
9. Another One Another
10. Policeman Getting Lost
11. T