The third album of the second era from OX4 shoegaze legends Ride is their most inventive and creative work to date. One of the finest things about music, specifically genres, is how a theme can evolve, take off, land, disappear for a while, raise its head and return to the airwaves, stereos, and streams until the heart’s content.
Shoegaze took off in the late 80s and early 90s through seminal bands such as Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine, Chapterhouse, Swervedriver, Slowdive, and potential leaders of the pack, Ride. It was a moment in time for anyone dipping their toes into the shimmering world of introspection and guitar pedals, invigorating drums, driving guitars and wrenching vocals. For those of us who were there, it influenced our tastes without question. Then along came Britpop, mid 90’s poster boys with Adidas spezial trainers and Fred Perry polo shirts took over, leaving those shoegaze bands in the dust.
Roll along thirty years later, and it is back to how it was. There’s a massive love for Shoegaze once more. Slowdive has recently toured playing to audiences that were teenagers in the early 90s who brought their teenage kids along. Bands like Whitelands, Lemondaze, BDRMM and Just Mustard have reinvented the wheel, bringing back that glorious fuzz. Everything is alive.
On Interplay, Ride’s first studio album since 2019’s This Is Not A Safe Place, the band has fused the original fruits of their labour with fresh ideas and new sounds. Opening with ‘Peace Sign,’ the record immediately sets its intent. ‘Peace Sign’ is a song that harks back to Ride’s original sound while arching forward. There are delightful synth chords with a signature riff from Andy Bell that kicks in precisely when needed.
‘Last Frontier’ follows and continues with those synth chords with a heavy nod to New Order through Steve Queralt’s incredible bass lines. A song that will come alive on stage, it swoops and swirls wonderfully with a truly dynamic sound. ‘Light In A Quiet Room’ is the most intriguing song on the record. It feels like it is a song built in two parts: the first half slowly builds, flickers of electronica and a piano refrain that allows the song to then suddenly take off with lyrics about the ignorance of youth: “I never took any good advice, I rode my luck for most of my life, I didn’t think that the same rules applied, I never thought that I would ever die” It is up there with their greatest work.
‘Monaco’ is one for the dancefloor. Ride has always leant into pop, and this track has a real disco and an energising feel. ‘I Came To See The Wreck’ owes a lot to Depeche Mode in the way the song builds via electronica. Mark Gardener’s vocals are extremely powerful and to the point, building through the six minutes to form a dark, gothic, brooding noise that sounds and feels like a fighter jet roaring into life.
‘Portland Rocks’ is bold and brash, a song that feels like it was written quite casually, which could well be the case. Ride started working on this record from a blank sheet for the first time in their writing career. The album then came together through some home demos they had. The record had a slow start in its birth but then came alive quickly, with the momentum swing being what we know here on Interplay.
Andy Bell’s recent work under the moniker GLOK fuels the fire on the uplifting ‘Sunrise Chaser’. It’s a song full of optimism that shines wonderfully. ‘Midnight Rider’ has a huge, electronic pop feel to it. The band confessed that artists such as Tears For Fears and Talk Talk had significantly influenced Interplay; you can hear that on this track.
‘Essaouira’ is an electronica dream pop revelation. Gardener’s vocals swirl around an electronic loop; it feels like a full-on Andy Bell Space station experience with wonderful drum patterns from Loz Colbert. The production on this record is second to none, so hats must come off to the band and producer Richie Kennedy for that.
‘Yesterday is Just a Song’ closes Interplay with a slow, subtle ambient drone that bookends wonderfully with the opening song. The Ride reunion will be ten years old later this year. What Interplay does is show how vital this return has become. This record is the band’s White Album, and I truly hope there’s another ten years’ worth of music to come.
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