2019-07-01_Uncut_UK

98 • UNCUT • JULY 2019

comeback– is a usefulreminderofhow

Ridesuccessfullymanagedtheirreturn

toactiveservice.Undertheauspicesof

producerErrolAlkan,Rideappeared

refreshed,witha buffed,contemporary

feel.Asthebandcyclethroughmore

recentsongslikethekaleidoscopic

melodiesof“AllI Want”andthespacious

dubof“CatchYouDreaming”,youfurther

geta senseofhowfarthebandhave

travelledsincetheirearly-’90sheyday.

But,forthehomestretch,therunof

“Taste”,“VapourTrail”and“DriveBlind”

remindushowthrillingRidefeltwhen

theyfirstappeared,beforetheyclose

with“KillSwitch”fromthenewalbum,

whoseneedling,one-noteguitarlineand

sudden,explosivechoruscontinuesto

moveRidefurtherbeyondtheconfines of

conventionalindie-rockterritory.

Returningtonewmaterialhelps

underscoreRide’scurrentposition.While

WeatherDiariesarguablybenefittedfrom

thekindofnostalgiccuriositytraditionally

conferredonreforminggroups,ThisIs Not

A SafePlaceneedstoprovethatRidehave

movedbeyondthehealthyeconomics

ofthereunioncircuit.Ride’sreturnwas

welcomepartlybecauseit presentedan

opportunitytoresolveanunsatisfactory,

diminishedexitfirsttimearound.Butit

alsoremindedusofhowundervalued

Ridewere– ofthepleasureofveryloud,

verycatchysongsandjusthowgood at

them Ride are. MICHAEL BONNER

T

othefourmembers

ofRide,tonight’sgig

couldalmostbea

homecoming.Squashed

intothebackroomof

a 150-capacityex-

servicemen’sclubin

Hackney,thevenueis nobigger– ormore

elaborate– thanoxford’sJerichoTavern,

thepubwhereRide,Radioheadand

Supergrasscuttheirteeth.

It’sa longwhilesincethebandplayed

anywheresocompact;theclamour

surroundingtheir 2015 reunionhasbeen

maintainedthroughoutcomebackalbum

WeatherDiaries(a respectableNo 11 inthe

charts)andbigtoursofEurope,America

andtheFarEast.Thisintimateshowis

a treatforthefanswhostuckwiththem

throughouttwodecadesofinactivity.

Whileostensiblybookedtolaunchnew

albumThisIs NotA SafePlace, thesetlist

is fullofwhatguitarist/singerAndyBell

calls“theoldbangers”,whichactas

a healthyreminderoftheband’score

strengths:a compellingcombinationof

fragilityandnoise,a dynamicrhythm

section,powerfulhooks.

Ridehavealwaysbeenadmirablyopen

abouttheirinfluences.Afterwalkingon

tonewalbumopener“RIDE”– which

fallssomewherebetweenWilliam

BasinskiandMyBloodyValentine– they

begin the set properly with new single

“FutureLove”,a fine,janglyguitarromp

thatrecallsTheHouseofLove’s“Shine

on”.Similarly,“LannoyPoint”,from

WeatherDiaries, is essentiallya dreamy

takeonTheCure’s“AForest”– the

lopingbassline,theairyguitarline– but

enhancedwithswirlingsynthlinesand

a metronomic,krautrockbeat.

Thesetdrawsheavilyfromtheband’s

fertileopeningstretch.Fromtheir 1990

debutNowhere, “Seagull”capturesthe

psychedelicinterplaybetweenBell’sand

MarkGardener’sguitars,whilethe

monolithicheftof“DreamsBurnDown”

offersslowerbutnolessthrillingpleasures.

“Twisterella”and“LikeA Daydream”are

heavywithsugaredmelodies,partStone

Roses,partTeenageFanclub(orpart

Byrds,partBigStar,if youprefer).

“CharmAssault”– thefirstoftwo

songs they released in 2017 to mark their

ride

TheMothClub,London,April 23

Shoegaze’sprodigalsonslaunch their new

album with an intimate show

ridinga second

wave:(l–r)Andy

Bell,MarkGardener,

LozColbertand

Steve Queralt

awais

SETLIST

1 FutureLove

2 LannoyPoint

3 seagull

4 DreamsBurn

Down

5 Twisterella

6 Likea

Daydream

7 Charmassault

8 in a Different

Place

9 alli want

10 ChromeDreams

11 C atc hYo u

Dreaming

12 Ta s te

13 VapourTrail

14 DriveBlind

15 Killswitch

ENCORE

16 LeaveThemall

Behind

17 Future Love

Gardener:

blacknite

flash

Newsingle “FutureLove”

recallstheHouseOf

Love’s “Shine On”