Dropzines

DROPZINES "Between Sheets and Walls"
Riff rocking guitars, pounding drums, catchy lyrics and soothing vocals makes up this three piece band, the DROPZINES. Right off the bat you're lured into their seductive world of indie rock'n'roll. This is a band that comes off sounding like a typical "garage band," but with the high quality of production work shown on this album, it gives them more credibility than just your average band. Their sound, in most songs, reminds me of David Usher and Moist. The DROPZINES have that type of soft rock/alt sound mixed with their own unique edge. Overall, "Between Sheets and Walls" was a very enjoyable album. It's an album for many occasions, surroundings and will please music listeners of all ages. –Wednesday Elektra
Rating: 9/10 - http://www.dropzines.com
- Wednesday Elektra

I was surprised by this record, very pleasantly surprised. I was expecting a pop-punky type outfit and on the first listen, that’s all I heard. However, today I sat down with it, threw on some clunky old headphones and stepped back into it. A new album was placed before me; this album had great production and very catchy hooks. So catchy and well done, that I could not help but wonder why I have not heard of these guys before. This is an incredibly smart, well-constructed album, and a great deal of time went into it. Shawn Stabley, Michael Brenneman and Jason Kline are three wonderful musicians, and each carries his own weight throughout each track.
Between Sheets and Walls gathers elements of raw, stripped down rock n’ roll, 60’s garage pop, and a bit of southern swagger. The vocals are sweet and throaty with backup harmonies laid down by the drummer. Taking a slight turn, the track “At the Party” is a sarcastic dive into British psychedelia complete with Syd Barrett style guitar work. The guitar work on the album is wonderful; it’s simple at times but still innovative and interesting. Sometimes Stabley comes in with power chord stomp progressions, and then he’ll retreat back to a southern rhythm and blues style. Right underneath the rhythm, a slide guitar line will creep through or a harmonica drawl will find its way around the song. The bass lines are punchy and all over the fret board, but they’re right in time and tune with the guitar, always there to catch it or back it up. Kline’s drumming is pretty intense as well, as his energy and explosiveness is stretched out so well through each track. Each musician adds his own interesting parts to every track, and they’re all firing off at the same time. “What Will My Mary Say?” is another standout track on the album where the band experiments more fully with the 60’s garage pop sound, even throwing in a clubbed drum feel.
This is really decent power trio rock n’ roll with a great kick. The only complaint I might want to make would be that the lyrics, in some places, could be a tad better; but the ridiculous hooks make up for anything there. This is a solid band with a very full sound, and I’m impressed.
-Chaz Martenstein
3/8/04
- Chaz Martenstein

Though they hail from Pennsylvania, the sound that fills the room when Dropzines self-released album ‘Between Sheets And Walls’ is on repeat will be familiar to English ears. Falling midway between the classic, harmonic power-indie of Olivia Tremor Control and Guided By Voices, the mordant, minor key threnody of early Echo & The Bunnymen and the sun-shimmer joy of Anglican west-coast revivalists The Thrills and Cosmic Rough Riders, Dropzines are an everyman act in that there’s something here likely to appeal to every man. Front man and lynchpin Shawn Stabley (formerly of New York’s The Most Sordid Pies) also does a mean Jonathan Richman impression on the spikily melodious ‘Her Curtains’; that he then takes it into the territory of The Beautiful South and makes it sound completely natural tells you all you need to know about this most impressive band. - LOGO MAGAZINE

What can I say? I really enjoyed it! I immediately started bobbing my head and didn’t stop until I had to get up to get another cup of coffee. With poignant lyrics, retro-esque progressions, and a healthy dose of lo-fidelity you have definitely crafted an infectious brand of indie-pop. This is the type of music that could definitely cause a big stir on the college radio airwaves and, in turn; earn you some well-deserved attention.

“Between Sheets and Walls” subscribes to traditional pop songwriting values while subverting itself with clever lyrical content in a fashion similar to the songwriting of Difford and Tilbrook. Take the delightfully sentimental “Sad Tuesday” for example (Which happens to be my favorite track off the CD). This animated little shanty freewheels via a melodic soundscape adorned with placating harmonies – the type of song that comes off modest until you find yourself humming it all over town. Another noticeable track off of the album (though, they are all outstanding) would have to be “Wire”. The euphonious, bass-driven melody rocks out while maintaining a buoyant vintage-pop sensibility reminiscent to that of Superdrag. All in all, we here at Shut Eye dig your style. – Ryan Hoffer A&R, Shut Eye Records, Inc. - Ryan Hoffer A&R

Has indie pop reached perfection?
I ask because I think the 1990s produced a TON of great indie pop music (look to anything on Little Darla, March, Kindercore, Harriet, et. al. from the previous decade), and since then, I haven’t heard anything that has branched out in a new indie pop direction.
And so, we are left with another album that sounds like ’90s poppy rock legend Matthew Sweet and uber-underdog acts like All About Chad. I love it.
Catchy nuggets of tasty melancholia rolled up in layers of harmony. The guitars prance and hum and buzz just enough to shove twee out of the way and latch onto a little bit of power pop. The (typically) hopeless romantic lyrics are sung with confidence, and those delicious harmonies make songs of sadness and solitude a joy to hear.
“Sad Tuesday”, with its down turned, simplistic chorus, was in my head all day yesterday; and the other opening ballads keep up the momentum long enough to hold the ear till we hit pay dirt later on.
The standout “Creature Comfort” has a sweet, haunting melody, tinged to great effect by a lonesome-sounding keyboard, and “What Will My Marry Say” and “I’ll Take You Downtowne” contain bits of pop you might find on an Elephant 6 record. The acoustic driven “At The Party” reminds me of...well...when the indie pop bands stopped rocking to pluck out something on a comfy couch.
Although is textbook, it’s damn enjoyable listen. I’d say it’s...oh...99% fun.
--Mark Hughson
- Mark Hughson

This Pennsylvanian trio is a highly interesting and attention-retaining one, as their music so zestfully straddles so many genres, with the opening track 'Sad Tuesday' being part-pop, part-punk, park-rock, and all-engaging.

'Lets Go Of You' delivers a magical jingle-jangle guitar sound straight out of the swingin' sixties courtesy of the band frontman Shawn Stabley on both guitar and vocals (he who was once an integral player in NYC's band Most Sordid Pies), while 'Creature Comfort' builds on the Dropzines' love of upbeat pop-rock melodies.

With Jason Kline on percussion duties and Mike Brenneman on bass, the majority of these songs are indie-rock anthems that bounce away merrily with catchy hooks aplenty, even if the overall rock sound is rather endearingly 'raw.' Still, there is ample room for surprises, as 'At The Party' bowls in its acoustic majesty while Shawn sings of 'boring people talking about themselves' (which, he realises, is what parties are usually all about… are they not?) in rather a subdued and reflective mood, before a fantastically angular blues-rock riff rides out their 'Endless Driveway.'

Perhaps the most interestingly captivating track of all though is the one that comes last, because - no word of a lie - 'I'll Take You Downtowne' is buoyed by the exact same harmony that the Fountains of Wayne have since made famous via their 'Stacey's Mum' pop-punk anthem. Which is weird.

'Between Sheets And Walls' and between you and me, much of the Dropzines' success lies in the fact that their music is so hard to categorise. And whatever type of music they are playing, rest assured - it always a joy to hear. (Steve Rudd)

- Steve Rudd

"Move over as the Dropzines take their rightful place on the throne of captivatingly grungy pop-rock."
Innovative pop has come at last in the form of the Dropzines’ album Between Sheets and Walls. Somewhere between The Wonders from the movie That Thing You Do and modern indie rock emerge the Pennsylvania band with an amazing eye for the catchy. Not a moment exists on this album when you won’t be bobbing your head thinking of early Beatles tunes.
Although a bit unsteady when it comes to lyrical flow, Shawn Stabley, vocals/guitar; Michael Brenneman, bass; and Jason Kline, drums pull it all together for a poppy social commentary that will start your mind spinning and your feet tapping. You know that song that’s been running through your head for days? Well it can get ready to move over as the Dropzines take their rightful place on the throne of captivatingly grungy pop-rock.
“Sad Tuesday” should perhaps be the mascot of the entire album with its certainty in its place in modern rock and that extremely upbeat melody inherent to every one of the Dropzines’ songs. It’s that edgy basement pop your mom tells you to turn down because she’s nervous you’ll turn into a rock star groupie.
“What Will My Mary Say?” proves itself, however impossible you thought it, to be even more bubblegum-pop-with-attitude than “Sad Tuesday” and calls to mind early Weezer meets early Beatles.
The unquestionably best song on Between Sheets and Walls is “Endless Driveway,” as it has all the aforementioned virtues of the other tracks, yet more openly touches on some kind of depth or sadness perhaps lacking entirely from the rest of the album.
Conceivably, the greatest thing about the Dropzines is not their catchy songs or ability to call to mind other bands you’ve loved, but their brazen comfort in the pop nature of their music.
- Genevieve Will

If there's one band format I'd like to declare really and truly dead (with the understanding that it would come back better than ever in thirty years or so), it would be the basic guitar/bass/drums trio -- what I've termed "The Bare Minimum". A three-piece isn't even minimalist any more -- it just sort of is.
On the other hand, every time the rock trio concept seems to be exhausted, a cool new band comes around to briefly revive it, as The Dropzines do here. As Between Sheets and Walls soundly demonstrates, good ideas never die. We only allow ourselves to become jaded as listeners. Simplistic pop-rock be fun again. The bridge/chorus/bridge/chorus/bridge structure never deserved to be spurned! The pervasive sense of familiarity, of comfort, of having been there and done that, is not alien to The Dropzines; they make it their own, crafting music that'll make you nostalgic for the first time you heard it, even as you listen to it for the first time! The simple joy of singer Shawn Stabley's gruff but highly melodic performance should not be underestimated, and The Dropzines' smart, hooky lyrics and vocal melodies don't merely request singing along -- they seem to demand it!
Between Sheets and Walls will quickly wear thin if it's overplayed, but it's not meant for hours of close scrutiny. You'd be wise to hide it away in your record collection, bringing it out for a fresh listen every time you feel yourself getting too jaded. Used sparingly, it gives new life and vigor to everyone and everything it touches

- Mike Meginnis

Smart power pop from Pennsylvania brings to mind retro Brit sounds from the 60's. A little bit snotty,singer/guitarist Shawn Stabley offers a slightly skewered look at society in a true gem of a song, "At the Party".
And while the band has since gotten a new bass player,I sure like to know why because Michael Brennerman and drummer Jason Kline had true chemistry and it shows all thru out this fine album. The bass is a bit chunky which only adds depth to Stabley's vocals.
Kline's drumming is both fast yet in control,a sign of a true pro. Too many pop drummers either hit too lightly or disappear altogether.
The song "Let Go of You" reminds of the late lamented Screaming Marys.
Very polished, very nice and very recommended.


- Here and There Magazine

Back in the day I used to love American bands like Buffalo Tom and the Smoking Popes who produced emotional, heartfelt power pop/rock epic tunes. Every one had great lyrics, a killer tune and that innate ability to make you sing along at the top of your voice, no matter how badly you sing. Imagine my surprise and delight to find a band still purveying all these qualities. Dropzines album 'Between Sheets And Walls' is chock full of great alternative rock tunes, workmanlike yet beautiful just like the aforementioned Buffalo Tom.

Stand out tracks have to be the charmingly ramshackle 'Sad Tuesday', a song that appears to have a lot more time than most to make its point. There's also 'At The Party' that shows that Dropzines do melancholia aswell as Trashcan Sinatras used to and 'Purple Sandals' that displays west coast pop sensibilities to rival Teenage Fanclub.

- Russell Barker