Drop Nineteens - Limp

(Hut, 1993)

A single yanked from the Drop Nineteens’ second (and last) album, “Limp” takes a more rock-minded approach – check them aggressive vocals! – than the band’s earlier material, though the shoegaze influence remains quite apparent in the nicely wonky guitar work. Still, file it under “Alt” and approach with caution. The Pixie-esque “Tempest” and “Sea Rock” give us some more oddball gtr-FX goofiness, but both are prototypical B-sides, loose throwaways better for a chuckle (“Tempest,” with its overbaked howls, almost seems to be a Nirvana parody at times) than much else. LP number one, Delaware, offers a more sedate noise-swell and does a far better job of satisfying with its inoffensive aping of early-’90s Britgaze. These guys were purely second-stringers.