Ride Releases New Track 'Last Frontier' Ahead of Album 'Interplay,' Due Out May 11

The legendary shoegaze band Ride released their latest single "Last Frontier" on Thursday, Feb. 15.

The track will appear on their seventh studio album Interplay, which is due out on May 11 via Wichita Recordings.

"Last Frontier" is a warm, laid back psychedelic rock track with warbling melodies, rolling drums and an understated vocal performance.

"This was the runt of the litter of the very first jam session from Mark’s OX4 Studio and I didn’t even include it on my shortlist of the best tracks," singer and guitarist Andy Bell said in a press release.

"It was our producer Richie Kennedy who saw the potential of the song, and we attacked this with a vengeance at Vada studio. A complete revamp of the backing track and arrangement was needed and we took it right back to basics, more towards a pounding Joy Division feel."

Bell also spoke about how Ride revamped the track.

"For the topline, I tried improvising at the mic, singing it all different ways, and coming up with new parts on the spot," he said.

"I felt really exposed but kind of said to myself, ‘you’re among friends, it’s good to push yourself to try new ways to write.’ It feels different to every vocal I’ve ever done. It’s still a new way of working for me but it’s something I want to continue trying as I think it makes for better vocal lines; a good mixture of written and improvised."

Interplay will be Ride's third album since they reunited in 2014. It was initially supposed to come out on March 29, but the release date has been pushed back by about six weeks. The lead single "Peace Sign" came out last month.

After forming in 1988, Ride released four studio albums in the 1990s. Two of their records, 1992's Going Blank Again and 1994's Carnival of Light, peaked at No. 5 on the U.K. albums chart.

The band went on hiatus in 1996 and reunited eight years later. After three years of occasional live performances, the band released a studio album called Weather Diaries in 2017.

The second stage of the band's career has now lasted longer than the first.

Bell has previously noted that Interplay was recorded during a turbulent period for the band.

"This album has taken a long time to make, and has seen the band go through a lot of ups and downs; maybe the most of any Ride album," he said.

"But it has seen us come through the process as a band in a good place, feeling able to shake off the past, and ready to celebrate the combined musical talents that brought us together in the first place."

Ride and other 1990s shoegaze acts have experienced a revival in recent years as a younger generation of fans discovers the genre on social media platforms like TikTok.

Fans can pre-order the upcoming album via this link. Check out the full track listing below:

1. Peace Sign

2. Last Frontier

3. Light in a Quiet Room

4. Monaco

5. I Came to See the Wreck

6. Stay Free

7. Last Night I Came Somewhere to Dream

8. Sunrise Chaser

9. Midnight Rider

10. Portland Rocks

11. Essaouira

12. Yesterday is Just a Song