A gigantic queue tangles around the Leeds Beckett Student Union as the first fresh moments of autumn arrive, coating the dark streets in a crisp mist. Upon arrival I noticed the demographic of those that occupy the queue and quickly realise they are waiting for The Vamps at the O2 Academy. Anorak coated RIDE fans cut through the obstructing queue and make their way into the Beckett Student Union to welcome the shoegaze pioneers back to Leeds as they celebrate their latest album ‘Interplay’ released on 29th March on Wichita.
RIDE are band that are situated very close to my heart. I wasn’t alive the first time around, but I’ve managed to catch them on every tour since their reunion in 2015, including their blistering comeback gig at Manchester Albert Halls. They’ve soundtrack my teenage years into my late 20s, from college to university and then into working life. I’ve turned both my Going Blank Again t-shirts yellow from their excessive wear. It was around 2012/13 that I first discovered them through the shoegaze ‘revival’ that was occurring at the time with bands like TOY, The Horrors, Ringo Deathstarr and Exit Calm flourishing from the influences of the late 80s originators like My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Cocteau Twins and Jesus and Mary Chain.
Ride combine influences from the Stone Roses, My Bloody Valentine and The Byrds creating deep psychedelic, baggy infused jangles with sun-drenched harmonies that kaleidoscope and radiate into uplifting haze-filled singles. After their comeback in 2015, they have released three studio albums, including their latest record ‘Interplay’ that has seen the four piece experimenting and continuing to push forward their sound into newer contemporary territories.
After a five year wait from ‘This Is Not A Safe Place’, and several solo albums from guitarist Andy Bell, RIDE return with one of their smoothest sounding albums to date. Interplay features more synth than any of their previous reunion records and pushes their sound into indie-tronica territories while maintaining the authenticity of their shoegaze foundations. It’s refreshing to hear RIDE experimenting and pushing their sound into different directions. Although, it doesn’t fluctuate into the deep depths of their shoegaze jam-sections like their 1988 monolithic debut album ‘Nowhere’, and their 1992 second album ‘Going Blank Again’ it does offer a more packaged and accessible approach to their tailored sound. And it’s only to be expected because they are artists, they’re not looking to repeat what has been done in their earlier years, they are making music that interest them now and that reflects the current climate of music.
At 8:45pm sharp, Andy Bell, Mark Gardener, Steve xx and Loz Colbert walk onto a warm orange soaked stage in front of a packed out audience of all ages and delve straight into ‘Monaco’ from their latest album Interplay. The opening drum machines welcome a summer indie breeze melody to wash across the audience as Gardener eyes shut sings into the air ‘This Is The Life I Owe’. Until Colbert’s drum fill leads into the deep ethereal ‘Portland Rocks’ another track from Interplay that is reminiscent of their deeper shoegaze cuts from Nowhere. The audience stares in awe at Gardener and Bell’s dual harmonies over the stunning progressive chorus within the glimmering lights as Colbert and XX’s synchronisation keeps the pounding head nodding momentum throughout. RIDE showcase they are back stronger than ever and their ability to create catchy dream-pop tracks is long from over.
The glacier guitar chimes and whirling oceanic densities of ‘Dreams Burn Down’ from their debut album ‘Nowhere’ quickly lock the crowd into a tunnel vision. Gardener swirls the words ‘Waiting, hoping for a sign that what’s forbidden can be mine’ before submerging into the sonic ice waters of a noise assault that violently floods into the audience. Dreams Burn Down is a perfect display of RIDE’s lyrical delicacy, sonic power and cinematic landscapes that they are able to craft within tracks, sending the listener on a solo voyage through the darkest coldest oceans of their consciousness while still being completely accessible. However, it seems that over the years they’ve toned down the sheer noise live, whether this is due to progressing with their sound and influences from the later records and retracting from the complete noise segments, or whether it’s my ears. Either way they are able to radiate the raw power into the audience not excessively, but when it is needed.
After extensive cheers from the audience, Colbert takes the sticks and constructs a dictating tribal krautrock stabs on the drums lining up XX multidirectional wonky slide bass until Gardener and Bell harmonically sail above into the trance-like beat of ‘Kill Switch’ from their 2019 album ‘This Is Not A Safe Place’. Intense strobes are unveiled in the reverb soaked chorus pounding along with the repetitive drum work captivating the room – if they hadn’t already caught your attention, well now they have. Looking around the audience, people of all ages glare on pounding their head along like rabbits in headlights caught in the trance.
For ‘Last Frontier’ and ‘I Came To See The Wreck’ Gardener swaps his guitar for bass and doubles up with Steve XX. Steve XX takes the melodic role as Gardener maintains the intensifying the baselines. Steve’s melodic bass reminds me of early New Order and Wedding Present’s Seamonsters era floating above the rythm section and creating a unique double bass melody for Bell and Colbert to drive along.
‘Peace Sign’ the first single from Interplay receives an impressive reception as the upbeat summery indie-pop anthem instructs the audience to create a placard of peace signs across the audience throughout the track. It may be one of their most accessible singles to date, but it still captivates the old school Ride devotees to show that their experimentation into newer musical territories has paid off.
As the first half of the set showcased singles predominately from ‘Interplay’ and ‘This Is Not A Safe Place’, the second half was armed with classics spanning their first two albums and singles including ‘Taste’, ‘Cool Your Boots’ including the Withnail & I audio sample at the beginning ‘Even a stopped clock tells the right time twice a day’, the beloved ‘Vapour Trail’ and finishing with the impeccable psychedelic opening track ‘Seagull’ from ‘Nowhere before walking off. After a spellbinding fixation into the older tracks the audience cheer for more and walk back on to finish with ‘Light In A Quiet Room’ from Interplay, ‘Leave Them All Behind’ the reverb masterpiece from ‘Going Blank Again’ and closing with, as Gardener said “one of the first tracks we ever wrote” ‘Chelsea Girl’.
Clocking in at just under 2hr RIDE exhibit their abilities to still create exciting new singles and fresh approaches to music while still paying homage to their youth and fan favourite tracks. On the way out, I couldn’t resist my temptation to buy another Going Blank Again t-shirt to replace the previous two I’d worn to death. As the crowds disperse back into the dark cold streets of Leeds, a warmth inside me radiates from the memories that RIDE have sound tracked over the years, and being able to see them again is a joy that is hard for my words here to transcribe.
