Project Description

RIDE – Charm Assault/Home Is A Feeling (Single Review)

Of all the bands that emerged from late 80’s England into the bright sunshine of a new musical landscape, perhaps none encapsulated the divide between sonic experimentation and commercial success more than RIDE.

RIDE 2017 – Steve Queralt, Andy Bell, Mark Gardener and Loz Colbert

The Oxford quartet – comprising guitarists Mark Gardener and Andy Bell, bassist Steve Queralt and drummer Lawrence ‘Loz’ Colbert – spearheaded the press-dubbed shoegaze movement with a sound that owed as much to The Beatles and The Stooges as it did to their modern peers like The Jesus and Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine. A dense, melody-based Spector-esque wall of sound palette that ranged from the driving noise-rock of Chelsea Girl to the swirling near perfect guitar pop of Vapour Trail and took in the dark, the beautiful and the melancholy along the way, the band released a succession of increasingly sophisticated EP’s that culminated in their debut album Nowhere, a record still regarded as one of the most influential of the decade.

After the chart topping heights of 1992’s follow up Going Blank Again, an album that expanded upon their original sound and fused it with a far more 60’s tinged kaleidoscope, the band took a left turn over the course of two more albums that resulted in a more Britpop flavoured approach before disbanding in 1996.

With RIDE now permanently back together and having wowed audiences worldwide since their reunion in 2014 comes the news of the June arrival of Weather Diaries, their first new studio recordings since 1995’s Tarantula album, and the band have given fans everywhere a tantalising glimpse into the new work with two songs, Charm Assault and Home Is A Feeling, both released within 24 hours of each other.

Charm Assault takes the catchy rhythmic base of Going Blank Again-era tracks like Not Fazed and Mousetrap and cocoons it in a psychedelic wash jangly riffs and ambient chords. As always it’s the harmonies of Gardener and Bell, along with the intertwining guitar lines, that are proudly to the fore here giving the song a uniquely RIDE feel and yet one that’s also infused with a sense of maturity. Those bright young men with their floppy fringes have been replaced by their older, wiser selves and it shows most evidently in the lyrics, with Gardener’s vocal directed at nameless Powers That Be who hold the reigns in the UK currently. With a verse structure hanging on a typical Andy Bell melodic line, there’s space here for the words to breathe without being overshadowed whilst the chorus kicks in and conveys some of the anger and frustration at the subject matter of the song. It’s as good a reminder as any that, outside of the effects laden soundscapes of their earlier work, RIDE always had a very clear sense of melody and structure and even now know how to write a cracking good rock song. With a clear and unfettered production style, it’s an update on the old sound whilst retaining enough of the core ingredients to satiate die hard fans.

Where Charm Assault feels like a step forward sonically, Home Is A Feeling is firmly rooted in the past. Lush, ethereal, spacious, its gorgeous melody builds upon a wash of keyboards and drenched guitars. Hearkening back to the sounds of Nowehere-era RIDE, it recalls the slow motion smear of Dreams Burn Down but without the feedback squalls. This sounds and feels like the RIDE of old, with achingly beautiful harmonies completing the rich tapestry.

Working with producer Erol Alkan and reuniting with mixer Alan Moulder RIDE have shown fans and critics alike that they are as fresh and as relevant now as in their heyday. If these two examples are anything to go by then Weather Diaries will firmly cement the bands place back in the music world, and this reviewer for one will welcome the album with open arms and eager ears.

 

Weather Diaries is out Friday June 16 on Wichita Recordings
via [PIAS] / Inertia Music
Pre-order now:
https://Inertia.lnk.to/WeatherDiaries

Connect with RIDE

Reviewer Details