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1991 Image
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 4 Critic Reviews What's this?

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  • Summary: The nine-track release from Boston shoegaze band Drop Nineteens features the songs from its first two demo sessions.
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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. Feb 19, 2025
    82
    1991 is, in this final form, equal to the early EP material of Slowdive in its nocturnal, hazy glory, with Greg Ackell and Paula Kelley exchanging lead roles. It is confident in its psychedelic, abstract explorations, aided by the immense, groovy rhythm section of Chris Roof and Steve Zimmerman.
  2. Feb 19, 2025
    80
    If Delaware wasn't shoegaze enough for purists, 1991 certainly is. Far from being rough sketches, these demos are full-fledged songs with all the hallmarks of shoegaze 1.0, albeit with an endearingly hissy sound quality that only enhances their nostalgia.
  3. Feb 19, 2025
    76
    “Mayfield” barrels out of the gate like a runaway Arctic train—the 2025 mix adds propulsion by removing a flanged drop-out section. As vocalist Paula Kelley winds black ribbons around Ackell’s melancholy topline, sheets of guitar clip overhead: proto-blackgaze. The two other EP tracks included here are dreamier, but no less impressive.
  4. Mar 11, 2025
    70
    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.