Reviews (page 4 of 8)
didn't have time for this one - clicking on 3 so i can see today's ..
Droning begins to all sound the same
Tried many times. Cool cover. Perhaps a good EP. Still a no on this one.
Expected it to be even more ambient, but some good shoe-gazey vibes
This is some peak 'good vibes but forgettable' 90s music. Solid effort but unfortunately it wasn't quite inventive enough. It sounds an awful lot like the other more indie music of the time, making it fade into obscurity.
This album made me realise that maybe I do like shoegaze, but at the same time, no song stick out to me
I enjoy it, I had 'Vapour Trails' on a shoegaze playlist but other than that there aren't tracks that stand head-and-shoulders above the rest. It's pretty consistent throughout and fairly suitable for background listening.
if its shoegaze, its an instant 4 for me. love that shit
Shoegaze is background music to me.
I like me some shoegaze from time to time. It takes me somewhere. Nothing wrong with this.
The album was quite interesting. However, the sound was too ethereal for me to really enjoy it. 3/5
Would not buy.
Vamos hoy martes con una banda que desconozco por completo y de un género que a medida que pasa el tiempo me gusta más. Probablemente crecer es aislarse y ponerse más irascible y el shoegaze (también el no-wave, el post-punk y el new wave), acompaña a esos estados más introspectivos y antisociales. El disco marida muy bien con los momentos de autorreflexión y las ganas de escaparse. Muchas gracias por la novedad y hasta mañana.
need to listen to more shoegaze to fully appreciate this album, its a genre ive bounced off of in the past.
I'm not a big shoegaze fan, but this album was fine. Personal enjoyment: 3/5 Relevance to this list: 5/5
How I feel about shoegaze is all in this album. It's either fine or kinda annoying but once in a while you'll find a really good song in the genre. This album is fine, it can get kinda annoying with how repetitive it can be sometimes, but Vapour Trail is so goddamn good the ending string arrangement is so beautiful. I'm aware that not all shoegaze albums can't be Loveless by My Bloody Valentine, but I wish it can be, but I can see why people say this is one of the best shoegaze albums.
Drone-y alternative music. Like Oasis but with less variety. It was ok, but not worthy of this list. 3*
De type fade.
Album No. 0046 on my list. I don't really know what to make of this album. To my knowledge, Ride is considered to be one of the greatest bands of the whole Shoegaze genre. Since both My Bloody Valentine's "Loveless" and Slowdive's "Souvlaki" are among my favorite albums of all time, I expected something pretty big here as well. However, i did not enjoy "Nowhere" that much. It's not necessarily a bad album, but none of the tracks really stuck with me. The sound of the album is decent and it does fit the Shoegaze appeal, but the tracks were mostly too long and did lack a bit of dynamic. "Vapour Trail", "Taste", and "Polar Bear" were my favorite tracks. In the end, I'll narrowly give this 3 stars, although I also considered just giving 2. Maybe I'll "get" the album more in the future. 3/5 stars.
I love the holy trinity of shoegaze. A repeat offender for me but always welcome the re-listen. Dreams Burn Down will never fail to absolutely incinerate my face off.
It turns out that I don't hate shoegaze, I just hate My Bloody Valentine
No shoegaze please
This journey has led me to discover the Shoegaze subgenre of Rock 'N Roll Music, and these out stops haven't been fun. Favorite Track: "Polar Bear".
It's pretty good, but isn't one of the 1001 albums that will stand out.
For starters, I had to Google "Shoegaze." Ok, got it. The definition promises a "wall of sound" but this album just sounded amateurish and unpolished, and the vocals are not keeping pace with the music. In the words of Randy Jackson, "It's a no for me, dog."
Yep sounds like shoegaze, not blown away, not mad at it, would listen again, not reaching for it
I really enjoyed this one! I'm not sure I have too much to add about this album that hasn't already been said; vocals and guitar are great. I give it a "Would listen to again"/10
I mean it’s fine. Some tracks are good. The back end feels like Walmart brand shoegaze; I dunno, I’m hyper critical of anything that isn’t MBV or Slowdive if we’re in this genre. Part of that is because I’m admittedly underexposed.
This one faded into the background for me. Nothing offensive, but nothing that caught my attention.
3-3.5 I always enjoy albums like this, so I feel a little conflicted about the rating. This one kinda dragged on for me, and a lot of the sounds and ideas are just versions of earlier stuff that I like more (Coceteau Twins). My enjoyment of Shoegaze/Dreampop music buys most of these stars, but this is not up to par with others I’ve heard.
Ride is the first name on this list I was unfamiliar with, but it turned out to be a great listen. I really enjoyed hearing some of the influences on contemporary bands I like. Shoegaze is a genre I love deeply but never spend enough time on. Dunno how often I'll return to them, but I'm very interested to hear what else they've created.
This album is a pretty interesting time capsule for the state of play in British music circa 1990. Let’s set the scene. We're a couple years past the post-punk/new wave era but a couple years ahead of the Britpop era and everyone is either really sad, doing a lot of ecstasy, or both. Lovable Scottish coke fiend Alan McGee has stacked Creation Records with a pretty stellar roster of indie acts including, most relevantly to this discussion, the Jesus and Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine. Ride, the then-new kid on the Creation block, is clearly pulling from both of those bands but with more of a pop music sensibility. Most shoegaze/no-wave/noise rock groups had an ethos opposed to classic pop rock bands (The Beatles, et al) but Ride clearly has a reverence for that style of music. All of the dream-like soundscapes and heavy distortion but with much more focus on melody. More than fellow shoegazers, the influence that I hear most on this album is actually the Stone Roses which, again, makes sense given that they were the hottest commodity in British music for a very brief and beautiful flash in 1989-90. Turn down the fuzz a bit, mix the drums a bit lower and the vocals a bit higher, then like half these songs could be by the Roses. “This sounds like it could be by the Stone Roses” is about the nicest thing I can say about music. Special mention to the bass line on Seagull, the guitar tone on Paralysed, and every second of Vapour Trail. If I can borrow from the Tipton system, I’m gonna give this 4.5, maybe even 4.75. Like the Missy Elliott album, there’s decent odds I re-rate a perfect score in the future.
The wall of sound and off-kilter vocal harmony on Seagull fucking rules. Vapour Trail is great too. The songs in between sound good, but feel like filler. I think this one would be stronger if it’d been a little more focused and had less tracks.
You might think, given my love of noisy, often dissonant music, that shoegaze would be in my wheelhouse, but to my confusion - and the confusion of friends - the likes of MBV and such have never really connected with me. Going into this, knowing Ride only by reputation, and even then, barely, I was apprehensive that I was just going to be awash in layers and layers of guitars. You can imagine my surprise, and delight, when this turned out to be closer to like... psychedelic post-punk than anything else. There's some genuine pop chops underlying the shimmering guitars, and the rhythm section is tremendously talented, giving each song a unique and dynamic engine. Definitely going to be relistening to this one.
The joke I always make is that if Loveless is god, Souvlaki is the son and Nowhere is the holy spirit. What I mean is if you've listened to as many power pop and bedroom pop or independent shoegaze bands as I have, you expect the same thing every time but judge the music based on how it meets your expectations. But someone had to set those expectations in the first place. And, in my opinion, Ride set those expectations pretty spectacularly nearly 35 years ago.
Unmemorable
THIS IS A GREAT FUCKING ALBUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MY FAVORITE '90S SHOEGAZE ALBUM!!!!!!!!! REQUIRED LISTENING FOR EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT A PLEASURE IT IS TO REVISIT THIS FUCKING RIPPER OF AN ALBUM
Nothing to write home about
I worked with a guy who once tried to describe this band to me. In fact, he tried to describe the whole meaning of shoe gaze (I'm not sure he knew that I was an amateur musician myself!). Regardless, I'd never heard of the band then, and was quite happy to have an excuse to listen to them now. His description was; 'they always used so many effects, so they had to always look at their pedals. So, shoegaze was born.' One song in, I was saying, 'weak chat, [insert coworker here].' It seemed like pretty simple rock, kind of a like a softer Oasis with a few effects thrown in. The singing wasn't amazing, but I forgave it for the genre. But. The more I listened to the album, I more I found myself enjoying parts of it. It felt like picking up a band demo tape five years too late (story of my life!). The quality of the recording wasn't fantastic, but I found myself happily enjoying parts of the songs. Catchy? Probably not consistently. Amazing musicianship? Not particularly. But, something I can't quite explain (which is odd because I've been getting better and better and vocalising my thoughts about music I listen to over a day!). I'm not sure I'd rave about the band the same way this guy did. I'd also like to point out this guy tried to ask me if my Beatles' tribute band could play ACDC so he could play the bagpipes on 'A long way to the top'. But, I guess I see what he was getting at (about Ride, not the bagpipe thing - that was just weird!). I want to say 5 stars. I feel like I've given more for less, but there is something that is just holding me back. Ah, boo hoo! This better not haunt me! 5 Stars.
This album is like your mate who does everything he can to fit in, but doesn’t really have any unique characteristics that make him interesting. He wears skate shoes, but they are pristine so you know he can’t kickflip. He has a Mr Zogs Sex Wax air freshener in his car, but he never wants to join in on the boys’ surf trip. When he buys a subway sandwich, he gets a six inch ham with lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise. There’s nothing wrong with him, but he’s never the first person you message when you’re looking for someone to grab a beer with.
Started well and I do enjoy some shoegaze. But it is a bit much after awhile. Vocals almost non existent in the mix.
meh. rocky. synthy.
I don't know much about shoegaze, and I wouldn't have initially classified this as such at first. The album opener, "Seagull", has some moments that sound like Nirvana or mid-90s Green Day and I would have leaned into the Indie/Alternative label. As it progresses, the album does begin to meander in slightly more ethereal sounds and we start the shoegazing. There are whispers of The Cure all over, and lots of vocals that sound like they were recorded in a bedroom at 12pm while trying not to wake the parents. We get sparkly U2 guitars on "Dreams Burn Down", which I enjoy more when decoupled from Bono's vocals. Overall, I think I agree with the Spotify listener public... "Paralysed" and everything after "Taste" aren't very riveting and I understand why they all have sub-1M listens.
Admittedly had never heard of this band but I loved this.
I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this one. It's not terrible, but I also didn't really enjoy it as much as I had hoped. I think that the guitar and such just became a bit too noisy, but at the same time that also makes this really oppressive atmosphere which is cool in a way Standouts Paralyzed 3/5
So meh, it's not even worth talking about. Meh, meh, meh.
I guess I don't really know what Shoegaze is. My guess is that it's heavily distorted rock noise. Because that's what most of this album is. I kind of like it? But it's nothing special for sure. I can't really make out any of the words, but I get the feeling that that's probably okay, and I'm not really missing much. This album does just kind of go on for too long, though. If you cut the length of it down, I probably would have enjoyed it more overall. Especially since none of the songs particularly stood out. Favorite Song(s): Kaleidoscope, Dreams Burn Down
Was enjoyable but nothing groundbreaking here Just background noise really 3 ⭐️
Liked it and I'd give it another go
I tend to think of shoegaze as my least favourite genre of all time. But I didnt hate this, it was a bit more interesting than other stuff ive heard.
I know this sound. There are plenty of other 90's groups that I love that have this sound. Unfortunately for "this group" and "this album" they don't seem to do it as well. Or maybe they're falling victim to not getting me at the right moment....because in this moment I REALLY am not feeling it.....
Second straight borefest. Its fine enough just has no consequence to my life at all. It exisists and thats almost all I have. I listened to all the cd tracks and they also had the 01 extended tracks and I couldnt bring myself to go any further. I didnt need 40 minutes or the 55 I listened to. I for sure didnt need the 75 minute version. Spacey bullshit if thats your thing go for it, but I will never listen to this again.
4.5/5 fantastic!
I liked Vapour Trail, Beneath, and Taste, the rest was whatever. Nothing spectacular
I have never heard of Ride before now. I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. It somehow makes me feel nostalgia despite not actually having listened to it at any point in the past.
Not so inspiring for me. Felt derivative
I didnt know this existed but I loved it. Quintessential shoegaze
pretty jammy progressive rock
This is my first time hearing anything off this album, let alone hearing of Ride at all. It's a fine album, but I admit it sounds a lot like many other artists that came out in the late 80s to early 90s. I didn't not like it, but nothing truly stood out to me compared to their contemporaries. I'll probably come back to this one in time, but it's still a solid 3 out of 5 for me
p654. 1990. 1 star. Tedious indie guitar driven noise that desperately wants to be the Stone Roses, but lack the songs or the talent. And at 1hr 15mins it outstays its welcome big time. Utterly forgettable. WTF chose this for the list?
Liked this on first listen, needs another couple of listens but would give it 3 stars
Very middle of the road. This wasn’t bad, but I can’t imagine ever listening to it again.
Unexpectedly really liked this. The vocals were a pleasant surprise, and the whole album just kind of carried me through. What a vibe.
Meh
Sounded to me like Moody Blues met grunge. Every song sounded pretty much the same.
82% Best: Seagull; Kaleidoscope; Decay Must-Hear? You could make the argument
Was excited by the Shoegaze tag, but dear reader this is more Stone Roses than My Bloody Valentine.
Pretty nice to listen to - the album art doesn't lie, it does feel like just riding a wave and letting it carry you where it needs to go. Tracks kind of blend together, sadly.
Britpop owes its sound to these shoegaze projects, refining it with more palatable vocals. I couldn't help but think about Hi-Vis while listening to this. Good vintage sad.
I expect any remaining shoegaze albums to land in about this same spot: It’s fine. Just fine. Works alright in the background.
3 estrelas #chatinho Mas tem sua importância, meio que criou o estilo "shoegazer"
Sets a clear groove/vibe: stays in it
Feels very alive; it breathes, it moves. A pretty great balance between weight and melody. Spins: 2 Playlist Additions: - Seagull - Dreams Burn Down - Vapour Trail - Sennen
It's fine, solid throughout, but nothing that would grab me and pull me in. Listening to it a couple of times, I'd think oh, this is like 3 songs later. It's all too same-y. Very good for background music, studying or chilling, I guess. The drummer is doing some good work. I've read repeatedly that "Vapour Trail" was a big single, but I am sure I've never heard it. (And I was a pretty big fan of Shoegaze and Madchester and the other Brits at the time.) It's not bad, just not memorable. This deserves a 3 because it's consistent with decent musicianship. Nothing bad here, but does it call to me for repeat listenings? I doubt it.
This one likely didn’t get the intense headspace from me while I was listening to it because I fear it turned into background music for most of the listen. Likely something that I would enjoy more with a few listens but one initial listen was a resounding meh. I feel like they’d be good live though? Idk
Not unlike the shoegaze I’ve listened to already, I really enjoyed this! Such a great discovery, one album I’ll definitely have to revisit!
Shoegazy stone roses
7/10
Started strong but flattened out near the middle.
I reached a new sense of understanding about this project during the listening of this album. Used to, I would have ranted about this album being undeserving of its slot, it’s a placeholder, that this is not one of the 1001 albums you must hear before you die. But- and here’s the new sense of understanding- did I ever really trust the random British guy what compiled this list to truly divine the inarguable, authoritative list of 1001 albums? No, not really. That’s a fools errand. There’s too many genres, too many different tastes to get a single absolute definitive list. So…what was I getting so worked up about? I came to this project to hear new music I wouldn’t have found on my own, and this is exactly that. And it was a decent album. And I don’t feel like my time was wasted. So why the bellyaching? Anyway, that’s what I was thinking about instead of paying attention to this album. 3 stars.
Listened to 3.25 songs. Did not like the first two. Did not want to continue. Do not like music that sounds far away. Why cannot this music sound up close? Then I actually did like song three, In a Different Place, so I went on to song four. Then, the opening guitar thing on Polar Bear is the same guitar thing as The Smiths, How Soon is Now and that reminded me both of the show Charmed and of how I don’t want to listen to any more bands that sound like this. Maybe the rest of the album rules though.
I like the idea of shoegaze and the wall of sound in theory, but in practice I can't stand listening to this music. I can really get into an atmospheric sonic trance experience, but there are so many more actually enjoyable examples of that. This music hurts my ears and reminds me of stoner boys from Connecticut in college trying to convince me to get high at 2:00 pm on a Tuesday and listen to this stuff.
432 albums in and this list is starting to turn into a bit of a chore. There's just got to be better options out there. This album is totally fine, but just so unmemorable. Another Heavy British bias inclusion. Stopped after a few songs. 4.5/10 (2.25/5)
My first from the Shoegaze genre. Soft airy vocals are submerged in layers of noisy, swirling, reverb-drenched guitars, where bright, chiming tones crash into waves of distortion. Overall my ears were strained.
I a shoegaze classic really a classic? Enough for this list? I don't know. It's very, very shoegaze. It is the definition of shoegaze. Hooray for that. I honestly think I would have loved this at a certain point as a young person. I listened to the albums that spawned from this a few years later. I need to acknowledge that. It's. Just. So. Much. Shoegaze.
Not on Amazon music
Love me some shoegaze. I like the group vocals on the opener, they are so unambitious but charming. Vapor Trail - great shoegaze song name. Fave Tracks: Seagull, Dreams Burn Down, Vapor Trail 4.2/5
A shoegaze classic
Neither as good as what came before or what came after. I don’t really get it
I really enjoy the aethereal feel to this album and am glad to listen to it and maybe even a better person too.
Boring.
Shoegazing is literally just as fun as gazing at your shoes.
Not at all memorable.
Basic
I haven't really listened to shoegaze all too much, but upon listening to this, I was pleasantly surprised! It has some great guitar work, and on some songs the vocals are also pretty good. I could definitely see myself getting blasted on some quality ganja to this, or just to escape the outside world for a while. Would definitely listen again, and might have to check out more of their work.
This is boring. Fucking hell it just keeps going. It might be talking itself into 1 star. Picked up a bit at the end but still ass.
the jesus and morrissey chain
It's fun for a few songs
I think maybe I don't know what shoegaze is? This felt louder and long. Not sure I'd revisit.
I want to experience more shoe gaze, although I didnt love those one
It's always neat to see what the songs and albums of a genre prior to the album that everyone loves are like. Grunge before Nevermind, metal before Black Sabbath, Prog rock before King Crimson, you get the idea. So, of course, seeing an album labeled as shoegaze released a year before Loveless intrigued me. However, not every instance of these sorts of things have aged the best. I mean, let's face it. The earliest hip-hop songs and albums are kind of cheesy. Fortunately, this does not apply to Ride's 1990 album Nowhere. This thing is pretty good! It's not better than Loveless, but it's still a great listen nonetheless. This definitely has a number of the elements that will go on to define shoegaze. The haziness of the guitars is the most obvious indicator here. The general vibe and sound do have shoegaze elements, though I'm also noticing more of a post-punk influence than I did on later albums of the genre. In addition to that, this album differentiates itself from My Bloody Valentine by actually having coherent lyrics. They're not bad. The songs here are cool, with the opener,"Seagull," and closer, "Vapour Trail," being highlights. The vocals are solid. The influence is notable. I'm pretty happy that I listened to this. Nowhere is a very good album. 4/5.
Never heard of this group or album. Nice background music for the office.
The vocals and harmonization are virtually interchangeable from song to song. The sameness is numbing. This wasn't painful but I wouldn't revisit this. 2.5/5
Pretty same-sounding throughout
Early grung sounds, but every song sounded the same
It's easy listening but didn't catch my ear. Related groups are Jesus and Mary Chain
There's something really familiar about this band's sound. Specifically the singers voice. Not that it's bad or doing anything in a copycat way. Maybe the lead singer sounds a bit like Nico? But with a shoegazey smiths jangly style? Generally good but I know people consider this essential shoegaze and to be it's a little too clean.
I expected to hate it as I don't like shoegaze, but it was actually good. Love melodies combined with wall of sound. Seagull, Kaleidoscope and Polar Bear wear great, but second side felt kinda forced. Nice vocal harmonies
Dreams Burn Down is goated. Otherwise... I honestly remember this album being better before. It's solid early shoegaze and influential, but not one of my faves anymore.
Trite lyrics, stock shoegaze sound; not much else to recommend it.
A good shoegaze album that I enjoyed. Listened to it twice yesterday!
I just can't with this type of music.
Hadn’t heard this one in a long time and knew I wouldn’t like it as much as when I first found it, but I liked it even less than I thought. Just a bit too bright and visible for me, I like my shoegaze a little more spacey and dreamy.
For as big and swirling as Nowhere feels, that's kind of where it goes. Ride's brand of shoegaze is potent, but the vocals often rob the music of it's momentum. I was hoping to like this more, but it's just fine.
Hard listen after you read glowing reviews about how this is a "shoegaze" classic. Droning and uninteresting but I guess that is the shoe gaze genre in a nutshell. If they cut the run time down to about 40 minutes it would greatly improve this. The vocalist might be the worst part.
At first I was on the fence with this band. It was OK for surf rock/ alt. But I REALLY like the genre and fangirl out on several other bands. I thought maybe it was that they are British and just don't quite vibe the same... Yet after a while I started listening a bit harder to some of the songs, and began to warm up to their unique sound. I think they have a bit more of a "wall" of sound than the "cleaner" surf rock I am used to, but being used to does not mean I can't learn and adapt. By the end of the album I knew that the drummer alone is worth a whole star. Amaze! The rest of the band... Yeah, after all I DO dig the genre so...
Musically OK, don't care for the vocals.
underrated as hell in the shoegaze canon
So good but so long
When people described My Bloody Valentine to me before I heard them this is what I thought they would sound like. Y'know, good. Anyway some nice songs here not so lost in the fuzz.
Nice early alt-rock album that doesn't go too hard. 3.2
Þetta er smooth og fínt. góð vinnutónlist.
Pre shoegaze og svo shoegaze. Algóritminn meikar sens.
85/100.
good
Not an experience I care to repeat
It wasnt dire, but that album cover set me up for a fail
I like a lot about this album - in places it sounded like a Stone Roses demo tape - but unfortunately the vocals are very underwhelming and fail to enhance or elevate the songs.
Nowhere I really like Seagull and Vapour Trail, nice drums, bass and psychedelic guitar haze but the whole album dragged a bit thereafter, it all being a bit one note. And while that My Bloody Valentine, Sonic Youth, Stone Roses note is fine, it doesn’t really feel like there is enough there to sustain interest over the whole album. It doesn’t have the immersive wooziness of MBV at their best, or the rhythmic interest of SY, or the pop nous of the Stone Roses (and while he’s not that much worse a singer than Ian Brown, the vocals have very little character to them), so it just kind of flattens out into one monotone 8 tracks, with only Seagull and Vapour Trail really emerging from the soup I can’t really see myself revisiting this. There’s a couple of good songs, but it's just not that interesting overall for me. 🚲🚲 Playlist submission: Vapour Trail
I went on a journey with this album (literally, cos I listened to it in the train). It required several reappraisals. At first I thought it like The Stone Roses, but if they had dispensed with the snappy melodic clarity, and tried to bury everything in the mix. 'Seagull' is trying its best to be the Beatles with that Revolver bassline and eastern scales, but falls short, and has an overriding whiff of Shed Seven. It is a dirge, and that's the general modus operandi. Sporadically there is a marriage of sorts between the shoegaze rock and vox, to create a couple of tracks of near-epic proportions, 'Paralysed' the exemplar - a dream-pop tour de force. There are Smiths influences - a dusting of Morrissey melodies here and there. The Cure's approach on albums like Seventeen Seconds is also evident. A slow, percolative album, which, despite is failings, has more than a little charm.
Not my kind of vocals, very much with the vibe of that era's as "boring" or "monotone" vocals as possible. Some songs more catchy, first songs instrumentals were good. Didn't hate it but wouldn't listen to again.
Meh. Mild. Soft. Nothing worth nothing.
2 - sounds ok but shoegaze always gets so tiring after a couple songs
I don’t like singers voice.
Excellent representation of shoegaze--I would have expected My Bloody Valentine's Loveless, but this is IMO as good. However, and this is a point about the genre as a whole--after a while, it fatigues my ears and just sounds very monotonous (I realize that's kind of the point). It's great when it starts though. I liked the drums on this album in particular.
Seagull 3.4 Kaleidoscope 3.2 In a Different Place 3.5 Polar Bear 3 Dreams Burn Down 3.1 Decay (Mark Gardener) 3 Paralysed 3.4 Vapour Trail 3.3 Score: 3.2375
I had never heard of this band so I looked up Wikipedia. Supposed to be a genre called "shoegaze." Again still at a loss. Understandable that I approached listening with something trepidation. I need not have worried, it was in fact a pretty good album with some memorable tracks added to my likes. Vapour trail Dreams Burn Down Taste
Solid shoegaze album very influential but hasn’t aged as well as slowdive’s souvlaki or my bloody valentine’s loveless
yeah pretty decent, nothing to special though; shoegaze i think?
Hadn’t heard Ride before. My first time through was meh. Second listen I started to pick up touches and moments that I had missed and paid attention a bit closer. By the third listen I was feeing it. I still think the lead singer can often sound like he might be the front of a high school battle of the bands entry. But the band, and the overall vibe of the album won me over. Looking forward to exploring more.
Had never heard Ride before and I liked this very much. Not as melodic as The Las or Stone Roses but an excellent shoe gaze album. Listened on a plane so probably missed some sonic details but it was propulsive and a really enjoyable listen if a little bit repetitive.
This project has taught me that I'm actually into shoegaze, this is definitely my kind of thing. Transportive is the word that comes to mind, it demands your attention from the beginning, almost felt like I was fading into the noise. I love the spacey sound of the drums and the basic quiet-loud-quiet pattern that works so well here. Pretty damn near a 5 for me, probably would be on a few more listens. Starts strong on Seagull and ends stronger with Vapour Trail
bleh
‘Words are clumsy, Language doesn’t fit’ - love this ‘All the love I ever knew Kaleidoscopes round to you’ On track five. Sex and longing, is the vibe I’m getting. Quick fleeting romances. I like it. Big switch at track 6. More energy, but darker. ‘Now, this feeling’s so alive // but as you or anything, we die’ ‘I wander through my days Pulled a million ways Help me feel the forces I can’t touch’ Oh — by the end it transforms. Yearning. Sunlight filtered by trees in graveyards. Alone in a crowd as they’re not there.
Kinda just noise, but that's shoegaze baby.
Even vaporous music can be beautiful.
Very nice album. Listened a few times and the songs got better. A bit ‘of it’s time’ but some very strong songs and musicianship.
Nowhere might be one of those sleeper albums that is an absolute diamond in the rough that I didnt even know existed and would never have sought out. I've never heard of Ride before, and this was a really cool album! I liked the intensity of the music all while it maintained a certain chill aloofness (ala shoegaze). I often like the drony, noisy type stuff already though. Plus the rhythms and melodies were all pretty catchy. I loved the moments where the lyrics switch off into some hard af guitar riffs then back again. That gets me going. The vocals are all a little gloomy or muddled sounding and I wish that wasn't always the case. Standouts were "Seagull" "Polar Bear" and "Dreams Burn Down" I really enjoyed my listen to Nowhere. Pretty much every song hit for me and I would for sure listen to this again. For a kind of lengthy album it certainly didn't feel like it was too long. This one is a nice surprise and deserving of 5 stars.
Couldn't really click with this one
This is the most "that was music" I've felt in a while. Nothing piqued my interest. Nothing offended my sensibilities. I couldn't tell you any good parts, or any bad parts. Shoegaze tends to be like that for me, but this epitomized it. This is, in fact, some music.
Seemingly aimless noise, mixed by someone without ears.
Shoegaze at its best (along with MBV and next to them, Slowdive). This album is heavy, noisy, layered and beautiful and melodic at the same time - I love the dreamy singing, the droning guitars and the drums especially, which create a fantastic wall of sound. It needs to be listened with headphones and at a quite loud volume. Favourite songs are Seagull, Polar Bear, Dream Burn Down and the beautiful closing track Vapour Trail which are classics of the genre.
Not my thing
decent
** Not my Sound. Too boring songs. No.
Veldig behagelig
idk why but I really liked this one
While I liked the general sound of the album and could see myself listening to it again, it was kind of monotonous considering the hour plus length
Frustrating listen. Every now and then the song breaks through the wall of sound. Melodic and bold - voice or a guitar clear as a bell. Those moments are brilliant but to far in between. Listening to two monotone guitars grinding away is not my cup of tea. Three
It’s a long ride. Not a lot of curves, mostly downhill. Not much see, time to get off.
First listen in four years. Not as boring as I remember.
Blah
I had never heard of Ride. At first, the opening track Seagull sounded like John Corbett’s indie-New-World band in the movie Serendipity, which I looked and it does have the same bass line. The next song was passively listened to, and then Different Places hit and I found vibing. The song Polar Bear had me! True, I’m not a huge fan of the Morrisey-esque vocal style but it does fit here, and in songs like Unfamiliar even changes up (great drum work on that song). The title track was great on headphones. I wish I had the lava lamp bubbling. There upstairs like Sennen and passives like Here and Now which sounded like a lot of alt from the mid-90s. Overall, this album was really good. I’m trying to break my recent regrettable trend of over appreciating mid-level albums so i am going to give this a solid three-star today, though future listens could easily boost this higher. I’m listening to this again tonight and maybe tomorrow too!
Random thoughts: * When this was described as shoegaze I expected it to be a little more chill and this was more punk and rock than I was expecting. This is why I should go in totally blind sometime. * Overall, this was an alright listen but it all kind of blended in together. Which I guess is maybe why it is called shoegaze. * I listened to the top track "Vapour Trail" several times and none of it really captivated me. I guess I can see the influence in so many other groups. * "Vapour Trail" really sounds like a 2000s era band and I can't quite place it. This is driving my brain nuts. * Ride must have been way ahead of their time. * I'll probably never pick this one up again.
4/10
This was a decent album, but it was not my thing to listen to.
I've seen the band twice and think the same thing when I listen to this album. They start out really cool and then I am fucking bored for like 6 tracks until I get enticed at the very again. I think there are more important and better shoe gaze (JAMC and My Bloody Valentine).
Beautiful sounds
This is a pretty lovely early entry into the shoegaze sphere, I appreciate it and the things that came later, it sounds dreamy from start to finish, and it is welcomed here
1-5/10 średnie. zresztą za shoegazem nie przepadam, wokale nieprzyjemne 2-4/10 już zapomniałem jak ta piosenka leciała 3-5.2/10 wokale nie miłe ale lepsza gitara w tym utworze(do powrotu na słuchawkach) 4-4.5/10 strasznie nudne te piosenki 5-5.7/10 meh końcówka nadciąga 6-4.8/10 7-6/10 przyjemna 8-6.5/10 fajne album w całości mocno średni ostatnie piosenki podciągają, nigdy nie przepadałem za shoegazem ale to był przyjemny album. 5.5/10
Competent, but pretty unremarkable. Nothing really grabbed me.
Just discovered the shoegaze genre from this album! Not quite a fan though. Tracks to Track: Seagull
Boooooring...
An incredible album. In my top 2 of all time and possibly number 1. Been lucky enough to see Ride play this live in full a couple of times.
Meh
This was just okay. It felt adjacent to noise rock to me, which isn't a genre I care for.
I really need multiple listens to get into shoegaze like this. Maybe someday but for now this sounded like weird shit and dragged waaaaay on. 4/10
The Good: We were warned… The Bad: We still ended up nowhere… The Ugly: Total waste of a ride to get there… It’s so interesting how regionality colors the music that you listen to. Imagine that you were living in Bozeman, Montana, when this album came out… This ain’t no Bridger Creek Boys! I’t is hard for someone who missed the shoegaze phase, and doesn’t have suppressed anger hidden down deep in his soul, to listen to this and think “golly, that is some soothing music”. I listened to this album… check it off the fucking list—pardon my language there, but the noise just got to me and I guess that I did have some suppressed anger hidden down deep somewhere, and this music has pulled it out and ruined my day… 1* for being shit
This album boasts one of the best opening tracks you will ever hear. There is reason these guys were so influential.
Album cover had me expecting something like massive attack which had me fired up, so the tonal switch took me a second and maybe left me feeling meh about it. Love British rock and can see why they’re influential/ great 90s band for a lot of people who discovered them at the time. Coming to them 30 years later with no relationship or nostalgia though left it a little meh.
Great discovery, in the spirit of The Cure’s 80s albums, with a great sound and sense of rhythm. Favorites: - Seagull (hooked me from the first second) - Kaleidoscope (the most melodic one, nice vocals) - Dreams burn down (sounds very hypnotic thanks to the slower tempo)
Je ne suis certainement pas un grand fan de shoegaze, mais cet album me surprend pour l'instant ! C'est assurément à réécouté. Je suis vraiment impressioné.
Somewhere between jangle pop and Indy legend's Slint. Really interesting album. Drags a bit in spots and a plurality of tracks are somewhat forgettable. Still, I enjoyed the feel of the album a lot on a cool rainy day in August. Nice.
They another generic indie album, nothing innovative and have probably skipped their songs on a shine album
didnt expect to enjoy a band I know nothing about but I did the smiths mixed with radiohead vibes
seagull- 4 kaleidoscope- 3 or 4 in a different place- 3 polar bear- 3 or 4 dreams burn down- 3 decay- 3 or 4 paralyzed- 3 im bored
Ride: Nowhere: I cannot say this was awful, but it is not for me. I found it very boring and every song has the exact same sound and vibe. Its alright objectively but I will not be listening to this band again. 5/10
I felt like ive heard this album 100 times already
Surely deserves its place alongside Loveless and Souvlaki in the triple crown of shoegaze
Some of the songs were ok. I don't care for a lot of the instrumental sound effects of this genre. Overall good enough for a 3.
New-to-me once again. At least I think. Let's go! Track 1 starts off with loud guitars. I'm in! What a tune. Great bass line, squealing guitars, rapid-fire drums. Love it. Omg, the end. It speeds up manically. That will be tough to follow. Track 2 follows with a more controlled sound. The drumming is fantastic. Track 3 has a nice jammy finish to it. I like this album so far. Track 4 has cool guitar parts. I dig this one, best song since track 1. Track 5 for reason gives me a British feel the other songs hadn't really so far. The guitar is pure noise fuzz, fantastic. And it gets better as the song goes on! Track 6 Straight-forward song until it jams out in the middle. Then, it abruptly stops and there is some pretty guitar with some sound effects over-layed. Interesting. Track 7 is the most streamed track as per Spotify. Its okay for sure but not as good as other imo. A bit bland camparitively Track 8 and 9 are both solid tunes with great drumming. It really stood out to me. Just realized the album actually ended at Track 7. so I will end as well. That was thoroughly enjoyable. I will listen to this again. 4.1/5
Showgazing classic. Very redolent of a very particular time.
Wow. That was horrible. One of the least enjoyable albums on the list.
I really wanted to like this album as I have memories of playing their track "Leave Them All Behind" on college radio back in the day. This album is moaning punctuated by constant cymbals... A bad reminder of a poor 90's sound.
As one half of pioneering Uk shoegaze band I have to bring up just how copycat this album is. Go listen to Houmous & Chutney’s ‘Nowhere?’ and come back to me. 3.8
If 3/5 was an album
All a bit samey-samey. It’s definitely not bad, like in general I don’t mind the sound, but it’s pretty generic and drones on after a while. It’s got a kind of genre-typical mixing/production I don’t really like either where everything is sort of at the same level. The middle section of the album (Here and Now, Nowhere, Unfamiliar) was better than the rest but again just pretty ‘nothing’ to me in the grand scheme of things. (2.5 stars)
Yawn.
Another album that was a wee bit too long. Solid 4 drops down to a high 3 because I eventually became over it".
5/5
Not bad but too long. Fine
Hey a shoegaze record and maybe the first album in this random generator after Surfer Rosa that was and still is a big deal to me. A funny story about Nowhere is that in high school for a good year, maybe longer, I thought this was a Morrissey album, specifically part of Bona Drag. A friend of mine’s brother had made a tape of the latter, which somehow ended up in my tapedeck. I enjoyed it well enough, but was REALLY into the songs on the second side that had a much rougher, melodic edge to them. Specifically Taste, Vapour Trail, and Here and Now. Seriously, for quite a while I thought these were Moz songs so much so I went and bought the CD of Bona Drag only to find the songs were missing. So I thought maybe it was Kill Uncle? Nope. As is clear now, John, my friend’s brother, had reused a tape of Nowhere and recorded over it with Bona Drag, a bit of a travesty, but even though I’d already had Going Blank Again for years at that point, I may not have come to these songs so easily. Later in the 90s Nowhere was one of those CDs/tapes I took with me wherever I moved to next. I have a clear of a multiday hiking trip through Alsace-Lorraine, coming down the hills above Colmar through a series of vineyards with Nowhere fixed to my ears on my Walkman. If the band had ever taken off enough that I’d have money for a private studio, I considered rerecording the album in its entirety. I don’t listen to it as much these days, but what strikes me the most now is just how young they were when they bashed these out. The lyrics aren’t the greatest, but those are always secondary in this genre, deservedly taking a backseat to melody, noise, and the beat.
This was nice album. Easy listen and not too long. I gave it a couple listens, as my first one I didn't feel that I had really digested the music properly. I think that the second listen through was a good idea. I went from thinking this was a bit of a boring album to thinking that it was nice, reverberated rock. Not a type of music I lean toward, but it was pleasant here. I think I may revisit it at another point and see how I feel about it. Good album.
3/5 Favourite Song: Vapour Trail Least Favourite Song: Sennen
I’ve never heard of this band before, but I could clearly hear the influence from the prior bands and the influence that they made on bands.
Tough one. I think if this is your band it's maybe because you saw them live and that hot girl next to you really liked it. There's a little Bob Mould in hear, a little British pop at the time like Blur and a little Stone Roses.
Interesting music. Kinda monotone after a while but still a good listen.
Oh neat. More whiny emo music
Decent, but nothing that really grabbed me. may need more listens
First I’d heard of them and curious to know what “shoegaze” sounds like 🤷🏻♂️ Pretty nice instrumentals but vocals are a little drawly, or at least take some getting used to. Found it pretty mediocre as a whole, just trudging, dragging, drawn out. 71 mins 😬 a little bit like budget Oceansize with pretty crap, melancholy vocals. Yawwwwwn. Pretty similar sound on each song. Nothing particularly caught me by surprise or felt different. Just like a conversation, that has some merit, but just nod along and then close it down. Trying to find a favourite track but literally all sounds the same (2.5)
Awesome album cover. If you know anything about Shoegaze you know this is at the top of the heap. I got a Spiritualized album yesterday, back to back Shoegaze bangers. There was so much good Indie coming out at this time. Really strong album. 5 stars all day.
58/1001. I think I used to own it. But haven't missed it if I sold it. I also recommend listening to only the original LP length, which is 8 songs. That is probably enough shoegaze for mid 2020's for a while. 2 for the nostalgia.
Just couldn't keep me engaged.
This album is the obvious result of a number of very specific aesthetic choices, the apparent aim of which was to upend a number of rock conventions such as having clearly-delineated lead and rhythm guitar parts, and having the lead vocal as the central element of the song. Fair enough. But does it work? Well, the trouble is that those conventions came into being because they're *effective*. If you rip up the rulebook, you better bring something else to the table, but Ride fails to do so on *Nowhere*. Compared to albums like *Psychocandy* and *Loveless* which *did* break with rock's norms (the former with its wall of feedback, for example), Ride's debut record seems like a half-step towards well, nowhere in particular.
One of the very best shoegaze albums. So rich and dense, but the melodies are there to reward those with the patience to seek them out.
I didn't hate everything about this album and that's the first time I've ever said that about a shoegaze album. The genre just isn't for me. They're that awful kind of edgy that's both pretentious and whiny. But this isn't nearly as bad as My Bloody Valentine - so props, I guess.
I have tried to listen to this 3 times, and not be able to finish it at any point. It's only 50-something minutes, but it feels much, much longer.
Favorite Track: Seagull
Some of these songs don't sound that different from Hillsong crap. Boring, uninspired background noise.
Just not interested in this sound. It’s not bad, but it has little draw for me.
4.5 Wow. That one came out of Nowhere. Gets better every single listen. Like a blend between Stone Roses and Sonic Youth, with a heavy air of Shoegaze throughout. So good to work to. So good to walk to. So good to have on in the background, or the foreground. How have I only heard of this just now. My main initial detraction, the length, has now become more of a bonus. Well done.
ugh... I kinda wish I was wasting my youth in the 90s. It was the golden era of alternative music.
Pretty cool
I'm learning to appreciate shoegaze!
Decently cool. High 3/5.
I would have loved to see this band live back when this came out. Something about this style of music just seems so enveloping in person. The album is good but it just doesn’t have the same feel. 3.5 stars but rating it a 4 as that live show would have been awesome
3/5 ok sound - but I was never that into shoe gaze #musicsky #albumsky #musicchallenge
Wowza, I loved this so much. It sounds amazing, the drums on this album are superb. Parts of this album feel comforting, others feel terrifying, a weighted blanket that suffocates. Unreal.
I don’t know why but I don’t really like this. Average, boring, kind of blah?
I never heard of Rise or listened to any shoegaze, other than a song or two. I like “In a Different Place” and “Vapour Trail” as they are more melodic than the other songs. This isn’t a bad album at all. Just not for me.
The most vanilla shit I’ve listened to. Each song sounds the same.
Here's another random album from a UK band you've never heard of from the late 1980s or early 1990s. This one isn't bad, but again, it's not great, and it's annoying to get these particular types of records over and over because the author is from the UK and grew up in that timeframe.
My only experience with shoegaze is my bloody valentine and this random vocaloid album so it was awesome hearing more cleanish shoegaze. Call me a fan of the genre
Cool concept for an album, I think the Shoegaze genre is pretty neat however it just got a bit samey after a while.
Too droney for me
Czemu ten Shoegaze mnie prześladuje! Nie jestem w stanie go wytrzymać i czuję się jakbym miała szumy uszne. Obiektywnie to może być nawet dobra płyta, ale subiektywnie, przez ten przesyt gatunku chciałam umrzeć jak tylko zobaczyłam tytuł. 5/10 i błagam dajcie mi odpocząć.
It was quite enjoyable showgaze and glad to know this was one of the first bands of the genre. The album is too long in my opinion though, but the first half is really good. Great discovery, will be back to their catalogue soon.
On the mount rushmore of shoegaze for sure
2,4/5
Oof, those vocals are really dancing with razor blades on my ear drums. Bold move to do harmonies out of tune. The music around it is better, so it deserves a 3 for that
I can see why this inspired a whole genre. Dreamlike and atmospheric in the best way. Also didn’t get boring once, which was a pleasant surprise.
Pretty good
Forgettable
Went in not knowing much about this band or album and I was pleasantly surprised. Great shoegaze songs fill their longer format with enough interest to make them seem half their runtime. Ride does this flawlessly. Favorites are Seagull, In A Different Place, Dreams Burn Down, and Vapour Trail.
smooth but strangely reminiscent of a lot of other things
This album goes nowhere. inoffensive, yet boring.
I had never heard of this band. Good album. It only doesn't get 5 stars because it has one or two weak songs.
Great fucking moving on this one. Beatles, Oasis, Jesus and Mary chain. Bass lines for days and great distortion backed riffs. Solid drums. Straight from the 90’s
Not my kind of thing but sounded good
While revolutionary for its time, I think other bands have done the same things better. Still a fun listen, though. Just not something I can see myself going back to regularly.
If I was going to use one word to describe this album it would be "generic".
Artist description says shoe gaze. I think this is some of the most consumables shoe gaze I've listened do. I would say it doesn't have that rough polish of someone like sonic youth though
Ikke værst
Kjedelig
Por lo visto, este álbum es un clásico del shoegaze. Desde luego, cumple con todos los requisitos del estilo: guitarras (de 12 cuerdas) distorsionadas, ruidosas y sostenidas; percusión y bajo sencillos, aunque no simples; y una voz apagada y constante. El resultado es un sonido muy atmosférico y monótono, en el que no destaca ninguna canción ni ningún momento en particular, pero que tampoco llega a aburrir. Típico álbum de tres estrellas.
Highlight Song/s: Dreams Burn Down, Decay and Vapour Trail This album has such a surreal sound. I love the vibe that the album cover gives off. It's fun listening to Shoegaze and closing your eyes and imagining yourself in some other place (like near an ocean in this instance.) You can totally lose yourself in the wall of noise that's in most of the songs.
I get the vision but it kinda falls flat because of the vocals. The music itself was great, but the vocals just werent
..
One of the greatest albums of the entire Dreampop/Shoegaze scene second only to My Bloody Valentine's first two full lengths. A beautiful marriage of melody & distortion near the top of all releases from the 1990s.
Does Andy Bell know how iconic he is?
Finally some shoegaze to bring some joy into my day. Not a popular genre on the 1001, and sadly this is the only Ride on the list. Going Blank Again is also worthy. Classic album, best enjoyed at high volume so those guitar tones ring out in your ears for days. Vapour Trail should have opened this album, it's a thing of beauty. But then again, what a way to close the album as the final strings put everything to bed.
Spacey surf rock
What a dull genre.
Ahh shoegaze... I am a bit of a fan even though all the songs are long and at times feel like it's unnecessarily so.
Decent album
Ah, weer een deprimerend album uit de 90s waar de zang niet helemaal toonvast is. Gelukkig ben ik wel fan van dat soort albums. Ride kende ik nog niet, maar ik kan het wel smaken. Het is iets te lang naar mijn goesting en er zijn weinig nummers waar ik echt warm van word. Daarom een 2.8.
This was a solid album, this is the type of music that I love so I’m biased here. It wasn’t anything super remarkable but I don’t think that takes away from the quality of it for me. I just wish it was like 20 minutes shorter because it started to drag a bit towards the end.
A droning cacophony of lukewarm piss and sludge. Boring as hell.
Part meh & part I could probably like it if i heard it more.
One of the good gazers
This album is one of the reasons why I am on this journey of 1001 ATHBYD. Started reading about the band and came across the term "shoegaze", which I was not aware of before. The album and the music is a combination of partly nice rock songs. Partly powerful, some good guitar sound, singing is not great but ok. As a whole a good album worth listening to but not great.
Nice alt-rock album. I get a lot of flavors from other rock groups in this album and listened to it multiple times. Some guitar licks that I've heard in Cage the Elephant, some that remind me of Smashing Pumpkins. I'd give this 3.5 stars, but will round up.
La estupenda portada ya indica que estamos ante algo realmente bueno. Ride son una de la bandas esenciales del Shoegaze, esa corriente que mezcla distorsión, sonidos etéreos, pop psicodélico y algo de ruido. No son mi banda favorita (Slowdive sin duda, también Pale Saints) pero sí que están en lo más alto de uno de mis géneros más escuchados. Vinieron a ocupar el hueco que dejaron Stones, Happy Mondays y demás bandas del sonido Madchester. Se acabó la fiesta y llegaron con un variante menos bailabe y algo más introspectiva, que a mi me parece imprescindible. Este debut les puso en cabeza del pelotón, en un lugar distinto al que llegaban My Bloody Valentine por ejemplo. Contiene canciones fabulosas como la estampida inicial de Seagull o la eterna Vapour Trail (con una exquisita version años después a cargo de Trespassers William) aunque yo creo que el tema que mejor les define es Polar Bear (igual título que otro tema del imprescindibe debut de los Charlatans de ese mismo año). Ahí cristaliza lo que serán Oasis y han sido Stone Roses, pero con el toque de ellos mismos. Dreams burn down la han escuchado demasiadas veces Coldplay para hacer In my place... Decay es un tema 100% shoegazing. Las bonus tracks también merecen la pena sobre todo Taste, que es una gozada, y Today otro de sus esenciales éxitos. Una enorme influencia para otras bandas, Beach House por ejemplo. La cosa no acaba aquí, el siguiente y sobresaliente Going Blank Again (con temazos como OX4, mi canción favorita, o Twisterella) que no les sirvió para un éxito masivo. Y el tercero, despreciado incluso por ellos, el magnífico Canival of light, tampoco. Luego llegó el Brit Rock que arrasó con todo, publicaron el decepcionante (ahora no tanto, pero muy lejos del resto de su anterior discografía) Tarantula y se tomaron un descanso de más de 20 años (Bell con cosas interesantes como Hurricane 1 y un temazo como Only the strongest... y uirse a Oasis) hasta que resucitaron con los formidables Weather Diaries (2017) y This Is Not a Safe Place (2019), hace poco publicaron Interplay, que me parece su peor disco desde Tarantula, a pesar de la buena recepción y crítica. En resumen, un disco fundamental al que el tiempo no le hace mella. Si no es este, que sea el segundo, y sino This is not a safe place, pero escuchen alguno o todos. También sus EPs: desde la triada inicial Ride, Play (ambos unidos en Smile) y Fall (publicado casi a la vez que Nowhere) hasta el fabuloso Tomorrow's Shore.
Ughhhh it's fine, it's 90s shoegaze. Exactly what I expected going in despite some occasional sparks of promise that quickly fizzled out.
Like the vibes and the energy of the album
This album genuinely feels like youre on a beach, nice, serine feeling throughout the album. The last song also feels like a conclusion to the album which its chefs kiss in my eyes.
I felt like I should have liked this album more than I did. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood for it.
About as interesting as the cymbal they are named after being hit again and again with nothing else
the continued disrespect this record receives from the shoegaze crowd comes from a place of ignorance. not all shoegaze sounded like My Bloody Valentine in the genre's heyday; in fact, Loveless was so highly praised because nothing else sounded like it. the reason Loveless was accused of having killed the genre was because it set such an impossibly high sonic standard that no other group content with their sound could catch up to, and everyone who didn't meet them (read: 98% of all shoegaze bands signed to labels who wanted to make back their money) caught flak from the British Music Press. this is what led to almost every single shoegaze or baggy band switching to Britpop by '95. so in a sense, your average RYMer is simply falling for the same booby trap the NME fell for: the next best thing arrives, and your old toys are left to collect dust in the attic. i am not exempt from such stupidity. anyway, Nowhere! it's one of those records where you can hardly believe it came out so soon after a contemporary, and this is definitely true in this case. maybe you could trace bits of it to the baggy of The Stone Roses, but the fact that it was just a year after proves how far Ride pushed the needle at the time. Screamadelica came out a year after this! so did fuckin' Nevermind! the best part is that even though i think the sequencing of the tracks could be better, i don't think there's a single bad song on the record. the effects and dreaminess is all grounded by this regular indie rhythm section, so you're always suspended six feet above ground. if you meet it on its own terms, Nowhere holds up remarkably well.
bah
Not familiar with this band slow jams and mellow
4 out of 5. Shoegaze with a more raw sound is better than I thought and it making me appreciate this genre more.
Nowhere is a good name for this mob. Each song goes nowhere. Just an aimless, amorphous blob of music.
Ok
I like my shoegaze with longer songs and less clarity
I'll admit that when I saw that Wikipedia classified Ride and this album as "shoegaze", I had no idea what that might mean or sound like. But from the opening salvo of "Seagull", I was transported back to the (very) early 90s, and realized that "shoegaze" was referring to that often-annoying wall of sound with indecipherable lyrics that seemed to define (mainly British) indie bands for a while (at times it feels to me like some sort of bizarre mashup of Meat Puppets, Cocteau Twins and Smiths/Cure). It appears that Ride was one of the biggest proponents of this style, so I'm glad they got their 15 minutes in the sun in this collection, and I appreciate it that their LP was under 40 minutes, but I'm a bit hard-pressed to identify any favorites from the album, I'll admit. Maybe "Vapour trail", if only because it was their only real hit?
A ride to nowhere with a meager vapor trail in its wake.
This was intensely boring. Really difficult to enjoy any of this, but then I realized it came out in 1990. At the time this was probably mind-blowing. Coming to it now Shoegaze as a genre has progressed so far I am incapable of enjoying this.
Had a bit of sameness.
Fantastic sounding record - just focus your attention on the drums for a short while and you'll see what I mean. The wall of sound guitars can be a little overwhelming, but there is hidden subtlety here, and Ride have always had a keen melodic sense too. That melodic sense, perhaps, is not the focus on Nowhere and I'll be honest, I always prefered the subsequent two albums, which may upset some shoegaze purists. Nevertheless a well-executed long-player based around a singular vision rather than a collection of hook-laden individual tracks. If that kind of thing floats your boat, then this is highly recommended - personally, as much as I do like this album, the sound was probably better suited to the EP format which served Ride so well prior to this.
I saw Ride touring with the Charlatans a few years ago and I think my ears are still ringing from it! Shoegaze definitely is something you either love or hate. I love the hard and raw vibe, but it can be a bit much after a while. Ride definitely brought the goods here. Some great tracks for a short lived genre.
I’m surprised at how many bands there are that I’ve never heard of. Who knew that I liked shoegazer music? Really cool album!
I had fun with this one!
Background music for me. Didn't even notice it was on
4.5 stars. I really enjoyed this! Some of it felt like filler but there were also moments that felt like they spoke to me where the sound was unique and powerful.
Wanted to love this because the production is lush but found it just a bit too samey and lacking killer hooks. Vapour Trail is still a banger.
bout time i listened to this. tomorrow ofc. great album. its not completely shoegaze its more of an alt rock with shoegaze guitar type deal or even just noise pop really. either way its very good. would've been one of my favorite albums if I listened to it 3 years ago.
More pub music in my ears. I could play pool and have a Guinness to this any day of the week.
I am going back on this one. It is a group I have never heard of and do really enjoy. There is some complex sound here and it has a 90's alt rock vibe I really like. But there were songs that really faded into the background and I was listening but not entirely. Or the music overtook the lyrics and I wasn't really listening to what was said. Somedays I might give it a 4, but today I would go with a 3. But I am going to add them to my liked list and hope they show up more and I can experience their songs on a day when they hit me stronger.
This album feels like an echo from a far simpler time. It begs the listener to dig deep and really listen to the space being created within each song. These compositions stretch out and open up like the Nevada desert. Shoe gaze will take you on a hazy psychedelic trip with or without drugs and the result can be life changing.