ALBUM REVIEW: Ride – Interplay

The third album from OX4 shoegaze legends Ride's second era, it is their most inventive and creative work to date. One of the best things about music, specifically genres, is how a track can evolve, take off, land, disappear for a while, rear its head, and return to the airwaves, stereos, and broadcasts to your heart's content.

Shoegaze took off in the late '80s and early '90s through seminal bands like Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine, Chapterhouse, Swervedriver, Slowdive, and potential leaders of the group, Ride. It was a moment in time for anyone who dipped their toes into the brilliant world of introspection and guitar pedals, bracing drums, powerful guitars and heart-wrenching vocals. For those of us who were there, it influenced our tastes without a doubt. Then came Britpop, the mid-90s poster boys in special Adidas trainers and Fred Perry polos took over, leaving those shoegaze bands in the dust.

Thirty years later, everything is back to the way it was. There is huge love for Shoegaze once again. Slowdive has recently toured playing to audiences who were teenagers in the early '90s bringing their teenage children. Bands like Whitelands, Lemondaze, BDRMM and Just Mustard have reinvented the wheel, bringing back that glorious fuzz. Everything is alive.

In InteractionRide's first studio album since 2019 This is not a safe place, the band has fused the original fruits of their labor with fresh ideas and new sounds. Opening with 'Peace Sign', the album immediately establishes its intention. 'Peace Sign' is a song that harkens back to Ride's original sound as it arches forward. There are delicious synth chords with a signature Andy Bell riff that kicks in precisely when needed.

'Last Frontier' goes on and on with those synth chords with a strong nod to New Order through Steve Queralt's incredible bass lines. A song that will come to life on stage, it swoops and spins beautifully with a truly dynamic sound. 'Light In A Quiet Room' is the most intriguing song on the album. It feels like it's a song built in two parts: the first half builds slowly, flashes of electronica and a piano chorus that allows the song to suddenly take off with lyrics about the ignorance of youth: “I never followed any good advice, I was lucky most of my life, I didn't think the same rules applied, I never thought I would ever die.” It lives up to his greatest work.

'Monaco' is for the dance floor. Ride has always leaned towards pop, and this track has a real disco and energizing feel. 'I Came To See The Wreck' owes a lot to Depeche Mode in the way the song is built through electronics. Mark Gardener's vocals are extremely powerful and to the point, building over the six minutes to form a dark, gothic, brooding noise that sounds and feels like a fighter jet roaring to life.

'Portland Rocks' is bold and daring, a song that seems to have been written quite casually, which could well be the case. Ride began working on this album from a blank slate for the first time in his songwriting career. The album was then put together through some home demos they had. The album had a slow start at its birth, but then quickly came to life, and the momentum was what we know here. Interaction.

Andy Bell's recent work under the moniker GLOK fuels the fire of the inspiring 'Sunrise Chaser'. It is 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 a revelation of electronic dream pop. Gardener's voice spins around an electronic loop; feels like a full Andy Bell space station experience with wonderful drum patterns from Loz Colbert. The production on this record is second to none, so we have to take our hats off to the band and producer Richie Kennedy for that.

Close 'Yesterday is just a song' Interaction with a slow, subtle ambient drone that caps off the opening song beautifully. The Ride reunion will turn ten years old later this year. That Interaction what it does is show how vital this return has become. This album is the band's. white albumand I really hope there are another ten years of music to come.