St. Mannequins

St. Mannequins seems to be a band with the intentions to make people happy, and it works. Their gentle tunes portray a rare sincerity, with voices like bells that still sound certain. Child-like songwriting, with lyrics about dinosaurs and grooms shaped just like silos are never corny and instead add to the enchantment that the every song feeds the listener. Listening feels like eating cake with strawberry frosting and rainbow sprinkles: sweet, pretty, addictive.

‘Wyoming’ opens their EP and is instantly beautiful. It has the kind of optimism that in turn fills you with high hopes for what is to come, and has the ability of making one happy on the spot.

‘Why can’t we write a love song?’ gives the impression of a lullaby, with a healthy serving of “la la la”s, and is about just why they allegedly can’t write a love song. Interestingly enough, they do a fairly good job of it as they explore just what went wrong in their love lives, and end up cooing, “Hey, none of this is that important. We just tricked you into being our new boyfriends.” The listener may not be sure how much of a joke that was, but it does not make the situation uncomfortable, a trick that testifies to the hypnotic qualities of the tiny sounds and tiny voices that the St. Mannequins use to make their music.

However, the humor of the duo is confirmed (uh…maybe) on the next track titled ‘Knock me up’, a country-infused little ditty whose chorus is “la la la, I want your baby. Please please please just knock me up.” It is not the first track of its kind on the EP; the second track, ‘Out of bed, big untruth’ is another straight-up country song, about shooting a cheater. ‘Baby Joe’ is also similar, both with the country influence and content matter. This time, though, the girls escape their broken marriages, proclaiming “'Cause after ya’ll know, it’s ladies over bros!”


‘Dinosaurs’ is the most appealing of all, with lyrics that may seem overly goofy when attempted by someone else, but the girls possess such an honesty in their music that it is hard to doubt them for a second when they claim that “if I were a big fat elephant, I would hang out with that rhino in the sky”.

‘Fairy Princess’ is more somber than the other tracks and closes the disc about a fairy princess that falls to earth, but is no less pleasing to the ear. In fact, as far as guitars go, it is a favorite on the disc.

The St. Mannequins embody all things beautiful and sweet, and make soft yet satisfying songs that get stuck in your head after the first listen. Not to worry, though; it’ll just put you into a good mood and make you feel pretty.

Upcoming gigs for St. Mannequins include:
Annex on May 27th & the SHE-BANG festival (a Long Island girl band festival) in June. They are also going to be recording this summer for their upcoming album.
Many of their tracks are available for download on their myspace.
St. Mannequins (myspace)
'Wyoming' - St. Mannequins
'Sharks'- St. Mannequins
'Fairy Princess' - St. Mannequins

Qualia

Qualia sounds like a pretty mediocre band….and then you learn that they are each only between ages 14 and 16. Suddenly, a couple of things make sense, and you can forgive them for a few of their missteps.

For example, ‘G2K’ has a surprisingly dark sound that seems pretty promising, though by the time you’re into it, you can’t help but feel that the song would be better after a little bit of thinning out; that dark stuff begins to feel a little heavy as the boys slab on pounding drums and a whole lot of guitars with increased intensity as they go, and a guitar solo later on overlapped with “oh”s are not helping the cause. ‘Goldfish’ reminds you just how young they are, with lyrics (not surprisingly) about a goldfish, and their use of counting in the chorus. ‘Goldfish’ is a bit simpler than ‘G2K’as it slightly more garage-rock influenced, and the goofiness of it all is a bit endearing in the end, whether or not their intent was to be goofy.

Qualia’s sound is noisy British rock, and while some may not be willing to give another noisy British rock band a chance, you may enjoy some of what they have to offer; Danny Lowney, who also serves as guitarist, has pretty good pipes, and at times are combined just right with the band’s other elements to crank out an energy truly reflecting their youth. They also have a healthy amount of attitude that may seem ridiculous when displayed by other youngsters, but Qualia is able to pull it off. After all, it should be said that these guys handle their instruments well.

Qualia isn’t exactly serving up anything new; still, they have a together sound and some good ideas that we can only expect them to build upon for many years. Does the fact that they’re young make this music good? Maybe, maybe not; it really depends on what kind of music listener you are. At any rate, give their tracks a listen, if for no other reason than to be able to say a bit down the road that you were on the Qualia bandwagon before they got big.

Qualia (myspace)

Drop's new Logo Image

We are pleased to unveil our new, official logo dreamed up by the fantastic Johnny Bayles!
For more of Johnny's work you can visit his website here
Thank you Johnny!

Wingnut Dishwashers Union

We of Drop made our way to the Tinderbox in Brattleboro, Vermont to talk to Patrick Schneweiss, aka Pat the Bunny, the main man of Wingnut Dishwashers Union. It was a cold, snowy, and typical Vermont day, despite the fact that it was already March 28. After our trek through the snow and into the colorful Tinderbox, it looked for a second that we may not get our very first interview after all. However, after assuring Patrick that we were not in fact actual members of the music industry, he was more than happy to talk to us, saying that he had never really gotten press before. During our interview in the Tinderbox bathroom (vibrantly painted), Patrick told of his experience touring Australia and the US, his years as a nihilist, revealed what kind of tree he would be if he was one (in the best answer to any question in any interview, EVER), and told us he believes drinking and hitchhiking your way through life “leads just as much nowhere” as the college-bound kids. We love this man and his music, and we’re confident that he’s the nicest punk-rocker, possibly even just person, you’ll ever come across. Download the full interview now, and you’ll probably find that you are just as fond of him.

Wingnut Dishwashers Union (myspace)
'Picking Sides' - Wingnut Dishwashers Union
'Jesus Does The Dishes' - Wingnut Dishwashers Union
'For A Girl In Rhinelander, WI' - Wingnut Dishwashers Union
Pat The Bunny Interview
We'd like to thank Pat The Bunny for this interview.

The Terrordactyls

photo by Jerome Jakubiec

There is no other music like The Terrordactyls. They are truly one of-a-kind. Everything from their lyrics, instrumentation and artwork is original. “I would swim next to you forever but I fear that you will tire of me and drift off with the shark” is one sparkling example (from ‘Swimming’ off of their full-length self-titled album). After listening to their music for a split second, there is no way you would ever tire of them or drift off. Last Saturday, Drop was lucky enough to be able to host a show with The Terrordactyls and to get to see them play. After seeing them perform, and having a chance to speak with them, I have an even greater, new found respect for the music they create. Their music is so much their own that if anyone else tried to copy it, it wouldn’t pass for anything but a bad attempt at good music.

Their music has a truly enchanting innocence about it; of course, these are the kids who in high school skipped class to go climb trees. Their claim that they have never really grown up explains why their music has the spirit of a child coupled with the skills of an experienced musician. Everything they do is absolutely endearing; they are the only guys in the world that could pull off their music and yet have it be so meaningful. ‘Overcast Summer’ from their EP entitled ‘Mike Bowers’ (a collection of cover songs written by The Pharmacy) is a must hear. Their self titled album, “The Terrordactyls” is filled with the best of the best. There isn’t one track that is below par. Some tracks you won’t be able to get out of your head are: ‘Facelift’, ‘Decoration Daniel’, ‘I Want To Cry’, ‘Swimming’, ‘Fall’ , ‘Parking Lot’ and many, many more.

If you would like to know more about The Terrordactyls, please give our interview with them and their drummer Kellen (from Yes, Oh Yes) a listen. It’s 44 + some minutes of entertaining fun, filled with everything from how they write their music, how their tour has been, to what kind of tree they would like to be. It’s also available for download, as is their entire album on iTunes. Watch for their new CD, soon to

The Terrordactyls (myspace)
The Terrordactyls (website)
The Terrordactyls interview

We'd really like to thank the Terrordactyls for their time and this great interview.

Drop Magazine Presents: The Terrordactyls

The first of many events brought to you by Drop!



Drop party featuring the Terrordactyls, a lovely and fantastic band, and a local band called The Alterations.

Start Time: Saturday, April 5, 2008 at 8:00pm
Location: The Tinderbox
Street: Elliot Street
City/Town: Brattleboro, VT