Drop Shadow

Drop Shadow
Information
Artist	Eyeliner
Additional Credits	Keith Rankin (Artwork)
Release Type	Album
Label	Orange Milk Records
Formats	Bandcamp Album (Paid Download) Cassette Vinyl
Release Date	August 14, 2020 May 19, 2022 (Vinyl)
Tracks	17 (13 + 4 bonus tracks)
Length	47:24
Tags	electronic; new wave; synthpop; dance; electronica (Eyeliner) experimental; midi pop; new zealand; internet; other (Orange Milk Records)
Status	Online
Eyeliner
Previous Release	MARBLOID Soundtrack
Next Release	Free: Buy Now Remixes

Drop Shadow is an album by Eyeliner, published on cassette through Orange Milk Records. In 2022, the album was published on vinyl, including four bonus tracks.

Tracklist

#	Tape	Vinyl	Track	Length
1	A1	A1	Los Angeles	3:31
2	A2	A2	American Beach	1:14
3	A3	A3	Contact	4:16
4	A4	A4	Promise	3:40
5	A5	A5	Keep Calm	4:41
6	A6	B1	Carry On	3:34
7	A7	B2	Coffee News	2:40
8	B1	B3	Drop Shadow	4:18
9	B2	B4	Drop Shadow II	3:05
10	B3	C1	Invisible Mask	3:13
11	B4	C2	Potpourri	5:29
12	B5	C3	Quiet Keyboard	2:50
13	B6	C4	Reverie	4:47
N/A	N/A	D1	Air Quotes	N/A
		D2	Selfie
		D3	Scented Candle
		D4	Memory Foam

Description

Drop Shadow is the new album from New Zealand native Luke Rowell, and his first release under the Eyeliner name since 2015’s Buy Now (Beer on the Rug). The album is filled with highly composed MIDI pop music that covers a range of mood and emotion, from the uplifting Vince DiCola-esque opener to the beautiful digital vocal “ahh”s that merge into crashing waves at the end of “Keep Calm”. Rowell is using the language of instrumental dance and pop to express multiple themes, the first being personal loss and caring for a sick loved one, as reflected on the suite of songs from “Contact” to “Carry On”. At the albums center these songs form a sort of emotional core that also reframe lighter pieces like “Coffee News” as mini respites along the way.

Drop Shadow also explores Rowell’s fascination with American and Japanese music culture and their many intersections, most evident to me on the upbeat “Drop Shadow” which utilizes the Korg Wavestatoion and M1 VST (which is the highest selling synth of all time in its hardware form) and lands somewhere between early house music, a Madonna instrumental, and something from a Nintendo 64 soundtrack.

If the previous Eyeliner album LARP of Luxury can be seen as a sunrise record and BUY NOW as night time music, Drop Shadow goes from morning to night and back again. Songs like “Reverie” can feel bright and head-nodding on first listen, only to shift into a hopeful melancholy the second time through.

Gallery

• 
  Front of J-card.
• 
  Back artwork for vinyl release.

External Links

• Bandcamp Album (Eyeliner) (Redirect)
• Bandcamp Album (Orange Milk Records)
• Discogs Page
• Rate Your Music Page
• Last.fm Page