30 years after the release of their debut album, Nowhere, shoegaze band Ride, announced a UK wide tour in honour the iconic album that kicked of their careers. Nowhere, originally released in 1990 and to this day remains a staple album within the shoe gazing subgenera, as well as one of the bands most notable releases including the singles, Kaleidoscope and Vapour Trail, two of the groups best known songs.
After being delayed due to coronavirus fans were eager to see the tour, especially since it was suspected that the album would be played in full, meaning fans could hear their favourite tracks despite the success on the album or whether or not they were released as singles.
On April 26th, Ride took the stage of SWG3 in Glasgow now two years after the initial anniversary. The night kicked off with support from Bdrmm, a new bad with similar sounds that could fall into the dream pop/shoegaze category. The groups performance was beyond impressive with atmospheric guitars and ambient melodies. The group were a great pick for support as their sound was unique yet still something that would be appealing to Ride’s fanbase. The group is best described as a mix of Slowdive and Radiohead influences whilst still somehow remaining completely individual. Needless to say, they were amazing on stage and sounded almost identical to their recorded work.
The fans suspicion’s were true as when Ride finally entered the stage, they kicked off with the albums opening track, Seagull, which made for an incredible high energy opener. Despite some issues with the sound that was at no fault of the band, the set overall sounded pretty much like the albums original recording. The four piece continued with Kaleidoscope, In a Different Place and Polar Bear, following the original track list. This then took the group to the albums fourth track, Dreams Burn Down which was mind blowing live to say the least. The song includes not only the groups staple thrashy guitar and peaceful riffs but also some incredible lyrics, all of which was replicated perfectly live. This track was definitely a highlight of the night and acted as a great example of what makes the band so unique. The group continued finishing with Nowhere, a dark, moody and very shoegazey song. The ending was extended and used as an opportunity to show off Mark Gardners incredible guitar skills before the show finally came to a finish.
Despite having played the album in its entirety, the group did not disappoint, returning to play an impressive six track encore including Unfamiliar, from the albums extended edition and OX4, a staple track for the band. The show came to an end with the track, Leave Them All Behind from the album Going Blank Again. This was an incredible song to close with, it was high energy and had fans singing and dancing to another great song which show’s what makes Ride, Ride.
Overall, the show was incredible even with some sound issues. It is impressive the see a band come on stage after 30 years and play songs from so long ago and to continue to make them sound so good. The setlist was great, as were the vocals and instrumentals, there isn’t really much else to be said other than we hope there’s more from Ride coming soon.