Brick + Mortar. Founder Ryan Getz initially wrote about the New Jersey duo in one of our Relevant Discoveries features over three years ago, and that’s actually how I first heard of them. I listened to (and enjoyed) the Dropped EP not long after its initial release in 2015, but never got the chance to give it a proper review. Since then I’ve kept close tabs on Brandon Asraf and John Tacon, so when they announced Dropped Again along with the unveiling of “One Little Pill” a short time ago, I was much more ready than I was surprised.
Back when Dropped first released in 2015, the three jams that really stood out to me were “Train,” “For Yellow Walls,” and “Hollow Tune.” On “Train,” a prominent piano intro gives way to a recurring clapped beat and subtle electronics, but ironically the only train-like sound from the album comes on a different track, “For Yellow Walls.” This keyboard effect pairs rather nicely with the relentless ¾ groove. The other highlight, “Hollow Tune,” showcases a piano- and guitar-driven chorus, making for a perfect combination.
With re-releases like this there’s often a song realignment, with former favorites becoming less preferred and previously-overlooked cuts garnering more attention, and that’s precisely what happened for me after hearing Dropped Again. Though I enjoyed the subtle differences on “Train” that came with the remastering and likely went unnoticed by the untrained ear, “Train” didn’t quite have that same staying power it had impressed upon me almost two years ago.
On the flipside of that, Dropped Again gave me a newfound appreciation for the monstrous bassline on “Move to the Ocean.” Once again, the subtle change in the remastered version of “Move to the Ocean” caught my attention, but in this case it actually did affect my perception of the song, making the eerie key line layered over top of the bass that much more prevalent than it was before. It’s strange how that works.
This “magic effect” also worked with the other three tracks from Dropped. They may not have stood out from the rest of the pack, but I did make note of the outros in both “Staying Gold” and “Brighter Than The Sun,” in addition to the guitar explosion about midway through “Dark Skies.”
Perhaps the most significant difference between Dropped and Dropped Again though is the addition of three new tracks to the reissue, including a Baauer remix of “Move to the Ocean” to close out the record. The remix doesn’t offer all that much, but the inclusion of “One Little Pill” and “Great Escape” enhances the overall listening experience quite a bit, whether that’s the fast telephone-like piano rhythm complementing the rocking guitar on “One Little Pill” or the infectious keys and electronics that give off a horn-like effect before heating up on the chorus of the initially-subdued “Great Escape.”
In addition to the cuts from Dropped that became the highlights of Dropped Again, the two brand new songs also serve as personal favorites of mine, making a solid 5 of 10 tracks top-notch, with the other 5 simply being mediocre. The result is a great listen overall that borders on the cusp of being a truly phenomenal effort, and it’s certainly the best effort yet from the genre-bending duo. My biggest gripe is that Asraf and Tacon neglected to include last year’s single, “Dead Moon,” anywhere on the album. The fact that this is just a re-release and a brand new full-length with 13 or 14 never-before-heard tunes is being finished as I type this is more than enough to make up for that though.
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