Two years later than planned, we’re here to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Ride’s debut LP ‘Nowhere‘, an album that became the blueprint for what was soon labelled the shoe-gaze scene.
A lot of water has passed under the bridge since the heady days of 1990 when a bright young quartet from Oxford burst onto the indie scene. Back then we all had a full head of hair, intact hearing and a good few more brain cells. I lay a large part of the blame for the partial loss of my hearing squarely with Ride. Dundee, 13th May 1990. It was Nowhere that accounted for much of the set that night. It was mesmerising, it was powerful and was easily the loudest gig I’ve ever attended!
As an album playback show, the only surprise is just how good it sounds. Whether it’s down their personal development as musicians or improvements in technology since 1990, the warmth, depth and richness of these timeless slices of sonic delight has the audience engaged from the crashing opening bars of Seagull to the closing feedback laden squall of the title track Nowhere. Dreams Burn Down, Polar Bear and Vapour Trail are welcomed like long lost friends.
Ride enjoyed huge success through the first half of the 90s, producing 4 albums before their career burned out in a Brit Pop fuelled blaze of apathy and musical differences in 1996. Nowhere and Going Blank Again are widely considered as classics, spawning a string of hit singles. For many bands leaving such a legacy would be enough, but time is a healer and 2017 saw the reformed band release of The Weather Diaries, their first new material in 21 years.
With Nowhere taking up the whole of the main set, the encore provides an opportunity to mix things up. There’s a change to warmer lighting combinations as the chiming guitars and driving rhythm of Lannoy Point and Jump Jet get the crowd into full on bounce mode. OX4 and Kill Switch keep the momentum going before there’s a rare airing of Unfamiliar from 1991’s Today Forever EP.
Leave Them All Behind closes out what for many has been an emotional night. It’s been a celebration of a classic album but also the music that for many here, is the soundtrack to their formative years and influenced their musical persuasion for life. While this stands true for many ‘heritage’ acts, Ride haven’t relied on the legacy of a few career defining tracks to justify their continued existence, if anything, as the last 2 albums have demonstrated, they’re now producing the best work of their career. Long may it continue.
Words: Rob Alexander
Pictures: Calum Mackintosh @ayecandyphotography