Dropper // Don't Talk To Me

If you’re doing research on the group Dropper, whose debut, Don’t Talk To Me was recently released, chances are you’re not going to find a ton of information. Well, their PR says the following: “Instead of labeling Dropper with a genre, we recommend taking a listen and deciding for yourself.” That’s great advice.

Dropper, made up of Andrea Scanniello and collaborators Jono Bernstein, Yukary Morishima and Larry Scanniello, have create down and dirty rock record that sounds like late nights and flickering light bulbs.

“Two Dollar Beer” opens the record with crashing riffs and trembly guitars. “All I want is a two dollar beer/but I got no cash on me.” Sounds like a personal, yet universal problem. “Don’t Worry” follows with propulsive piano and keyboard voices while drumsticks twitch away in the mix. It’s a total barroom boogie that sounds so at home with the best of early ’00’s indie rock.

Then there’s “Memoirs of Working in a Bowling Alley”,  a skronked out story with an unforgettable lyric: “Don’t talk to me/I’ve exhausted my empathy.” The song’s solo is both playful and ascendant. Quite simply, it rules.

“Ok Ok Ok” is the sound of the band swimming through wah-wah, and then there’s the the show-stopping torch song “Telephone”. Here, Scanniello sings, “Think about you always don’t think you feel the same/I’m distracted and you’re a fire/I want someone to love/not someone i admire but you steal from me/take all my energy” over chiming guitars and a fuzzed out solo. The lyric is heartbreaking, and then suddenly, the fuzz clears, the synthesizers cool out and fade out. It’s a powerful moment at the end of a wild ride of a record.

Don’t Talk to Me is a great collection of pure, unfiltered rock and roll. There are no frills, but there is great songwriting. It’s something to put on for any occasion and is instantly replayable. Here’s hoping Dropper turns out another record as high quality and purely fun as their first.

- Brendan Hilliard, Obviate Media

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Listen to Don't Talk To Me