The English shoegaze act Ride has announced that its new album Interplay will come out on March 29. Fans got a preview of the upcoming LP when the band released a new single called "Peace Sign" on Jan. 11.
There are lots of 1980s style synths on this laid back, dreamy track which was released alongside a trippy pixelated visualizer video. Ride hasn't put out a full studio album since its 2019 LP This Is Not a Safe Place.
The new track was released alongside a trippy pixelated visualizer video.
The new record produced by Richie Kennedy and mixed by Claudius Mittendorfer comes after a tumultuous period in the band's career, guitarist Andy Bell said.
"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 in a press release.
"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."
Bell also spoke about the creative process behind "Peace Sign," which has influences from bands like U2, Talk Talk and Tears for Fears. The track began as an improvised piece the band recorded at Oxfordshire's OX4 Sound studio in 2021.
"We called it ‘Berlin’ and initially it featured Loz on drums, Steve on bass and myself on a prophet 5 synth," Bell said. "About six months later I got hold of the recording and wrestled it into song form. Lyrically I was inspired by a film called The Alpinist about the visionary free climber Marc-André Leclerc. Soon after I’d finished working on the song I remember I was raving to my bandmates about Leclerc at OX4, and a good memory of that time was us all watching that film at Mark’s studio."
Fans were excited in the comments below the YouTube video.
"Amazing new single. we love it!" one person said. "Great tune! Enjoyed hearing this one played live. I am looking forward to hearing their new music," said another. "Great job, RIDE!"
'This album has taken a long time to make, and has seen the band go through a lot of ups and downs,' guitarist Andy Bell said.
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.
This second phase of the band's career has now lasted longer than their original stint.
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.
The band formed in 1988 went on hiatus in 1996 and returned in 2014.
Fans can pre-order the upcoming album via this link. Check out the full track listing for Interplay below:
- Peace Sign
- Last Frontier
- Light in a Quiet Room
- Monaco
- I Came to See the Wreck
- Stay Free
- Last Night I Came Somewhere to Dream
- Sunrise Chaser
- Midnight Rider
- Portland Rocks
- Essaouira
- Yesterday is Just a Song
