Ride spoke to us about their new album and also shared a new song called Peace Sign. The Oxford shoegazers will release their first record in five years on March 29 and marks a period of triumph over adversity for the band as they battled through both COVID and a messy legal battle. The Alpinist, a film about free climbers, inspired their new single. A guy by the name ofMarc-André Leclerc was an absolute kind of rock star free climber. It is mainly about this section where he knows he is going to climb the crazy rock face and he is hanging out at his friend's house while he waits for the right weather conditions.
At one point, he was playing with a three year-old kid in the garden but also watching his weather app and preparing himself for this extremely dangerous moment in his life. The energy in the song comes from the phrase "I think I'm ready" in the song.
The peace sign is a great way to express love and peace in the current climate. The Ride singer said that the band had a lot of adversity with the legal battle going on with ex-managers. The hideous stuff that other bands go through was happening to us.
It was a very testing time for all of us. We came through that in our own way, and I think that made the album as strong as it is, because I was just wondering if this was the end.
Bell said that some of the stresses caused by outside influences and negative things that have played into it have been good at reminding them of what we are. The interplay between us and what we have as a band is the core of it.
The influences they wouldn't have dared approach back in the '90s include U2 and Talk Talk, as well as Tears For Fears. Bell said that they didn't check for all the ’80s widescreen stuff. When we were in school, we wouldn't have been as interested in U2 or The Cure as we are now. I used to play The Unforgettable Fire and Everybody wants to Rule The World all the time.
Gardener said, "'The Hurting' is just a seminal album for me, I love that record." The sound of that album and Talk Talk made me want to record more.
He said that he liked a lot of early Depeche Mode. When I was talking to Claudius, I was reminded of World In My Eyes, because the track 'I Came To See The Wreck' was very Boards Of Canada initially.
Bell said that the band have a new respect for Depeche Mode because of how timeless they are. I asked Alan what his favourite mix of the two previous records was, and he said 'Violator', which was mixed by Francois Kevorkian. I think those things were just a fresh way into the Ride influences to make new music with.
Ride have a close relationship with Robert Smith, the founder of The Cure, who once described the Vapour Trail as one of the best 15 second intros of all time. Gardener said that The Cure were an inspiration to him.
Robert Smith has been amazing, and it's really nice when a teenage hero and someone you've really admired artistically all across the board buys their records.
Robert did an art project where people from bands put in paintings to help raise money for the heART project. He said that when he was at art school, he wanted to be in a band. It was great to be painting again and like music, it took me back to a certain time.
They have been together for longer than they were in their heyday. We still want Ride to continue because we don't get knocked off our stride so much.
You can pre-order or save the album here.