Ride

With all the coasters, carousels and bumper cars put to bed there was only one attraction to see at Dreamland in Margate. Celebrating thirty years of Ride with a special anniversary Unplugged tour, Oxfordshire's finest came to the seaside to play in the grandeur of the refurbished Ballroom. Back in 1988, the internet was in its infancy, Margaret Thatcher was still PM, the £1 note ceased to be legal tender, Comic Relief was launched and four teenagers, hailed as 'the last great hope of British Rock', started on their journey and in doing so also, inadvertently, created a new genre labelled shoegaze. 

Andy, Mark, Steve and Loz may have had their ups and downs over the course of the last three decades but since their reformation in 2014 seem to have put any former misgivings behind them in the best interests of the band. With new EPs and last year's album, the band's first in 21 years, there is a refreshed and rejuvenated air to everything that surrounds the current mood of the band. In a surprise move, given their once infamous ear-bleedingly live shows, the current Ride tour is a celebration of their work in an unplugged acoustic guise. 

As the band took to the stage to take their seats (co-ordinated bar stools with their individual names written across the back in a Director's Chair style) the anticipation among the packed crowd was palpable. Those gathered to watch their heroes included 'Planet Thanet' locals but also a smattering of Americans and a lady over from Japan who was here for her fiftieth Ride gig (Now there's a dedicated fan).

Continue reading: Ride - Dreamland, Margate 30.11.2018 Live Review

Should we talk about the weather? Should we talk about the government? To an extent, Ride's fifth album "Weather Diaries" does both. It's very British to get all meteorological and very 2017 to get all political, so they're bang on with the topicality, even if the album itself is a hit-and-miss return to the fray.

People tend to rightly gloss over 1994's "Carnival of Light" and Creation Records deleted 1996's "Tarantula" from its catalogue after a week, but there's much remaining love and nostalgia for their seminal 1990 sonic squall, "Nowhere" and 1992's comparatively breezier "Going Blank Again". Twenty-five years ago, shoegaze was possibly the last genre we'd have expected to make a future comeback, but with Ride's return and the resurgence of Slowdive, a Chapterhouse or Catherine Wheel renaissance must be a matter of time. As well as recalling the swirl and the punch of their best works, "Weather Diaries" brings prog and krautrock to their sound.

"Lannoy Point" launches the album with a cinematic soundscape of Cure "Disintegration" guitars and Kraftwerk synths. You can picture a drone-cam following a car as it speeds over a desolate coastal road. This prog/shoegaze hybrid typifies the strongest sounds of the record. Album closer, "White Sands" is one of several songs with a nod to Pink Floyd, saving the end of the album from a tepid fizzle. Title track, "Weather Diaries" has a woozy "Wish You Were Here" guitar.

Continue reading: Ride - Weather Diaries Album Review

Nearly twenty years ago Andy Bell and Mark Gardener were moving into different musical directions leading the end of Ride. The band had split up and members moved their separate ways, but fast forward to 14th October 2015 and Ride are ready to enter the stage at Rock City Nottingham after what so far has been a successful reunion.

Ride take to the main stage at the early time of 19:30 (damn those club nights) Mark Gardener introducing the band saying "Good evening, we are Ride, supporting Ride" strange you may think but instead of having a traditional tour support they've decided to play two sets, one with some old favourites and then returning playing their debut album 'Nowhere' from start to finish. The crowd are excited to see Ride with one guy saying "I've waited twenty years for this moment"

So the first part of the evening is compiled with hits from the bands 2nd album and back catalogue, filling the first part of the set with seven songs. Although a great little set on paper things just didn't seem to sound right - though it was great to hear tracks like 'Like A Daydream', 'Unfamiliar' and 'Mouse Trap'.

Continue reading: Ride - Rock City, Nottingham 14/10/2015 Live Review