Drop Nineteens – “Fools”

In 2023, we were very lucky to get Hard Light, the first Drop Nineteens album in 30 years. The shoegaze greats are already back in the studio working on its followup, which is slated for 2026. But for now, they’re sharing the blissed-out “Fools.”

“‘Fools’ originated with some beautiful heavy chords Steve [Zimmerman] came up with,” leader Greg Ackell explains. “I think he was trying to trick me into bringing a bit more gaze than we have since Delaware. And it worked. It’s a snake let in under the door. And as snakes do, it coils into itself. More than writing it, this song happened to us. And so that’s what the subject of the song is about, itself.”

He continues, “Chris McLaughlin (Kendrick Lamar, Beyoncé, Kanye West) totally understood all of this and delivered a searing mix that’s both metallic and oozing with warmth, which is not easy to achieve. We are ecstatic to have him and his bag of tricks on hand for the next album.”

“Fools” possesses the trancelike quality that makes their classic track “Kick The Tragedy” so addictive, but it leans into My Bloody Valentine-esque raucousness, the guitars as edgy as they are fuzzy. Fall under its spell below.