Nowhere

This is pretty great. I haven’t found shoegaze to my liking much in this project, but this was a delightful exception! There’s so much emotion in the music, and it rocks hard (especially love the end of Seagull). A fabulous new discovery!

Nice sound

Maybe im being way too picky about albums, but this wouldve gotten a 3.5 if it was an option. I see the vision but its not quite there

Enjoyed a first listen to these guys.

Dense, psychedelic textures are clearly this band's strong suit. Other elements like the actual skill level of the musicians, composition/structure of the songs, and so on are not up to scratch, and it shows. The singing is that horrific Britpop drunken drawl that is justifiably obscured by the loud guitars, drums, bass, and synths. The melodies are pretty bad too, though in the genre of shoegaze it's a little more forgivable. Often, the listener is left expecting some complex, satisfying melodic resolution, but is just left with alternation between the same two bland notes. It makes for a frustrating listen at times. Beginning with the opening track, Seagull, we hear a melody that really can't be sung along with, (in my opinion) defeating the point of having a melody at all. An instrumental shoegaze album in this precise style would kinda slap, no? That being said, there's some intense, indescribable quality here that makes the music feel huge, grand, apocalyptic. Or in the case of the final two tracks, Paralysed / Vapour Trail, refreshing and cheerful. Almost like something from The Division Bell. While not enough to push it to a 4, the wall of sound certainly threatens to do so. As another reviewer wrote: "It has a semi-epic, sweeping melodic quality, which combats neatly its noise-rock leanings. Pretty decent." Not as groundbreaking or memorable as MBV's stuff, and I'm surprised the two bands are compared so often. I guess there's a story of competition for everything. 3/5 Key tracks: Polar Bear, Paralysed, Vapour Trail

A fairly enjoyable bit of noise-pop

Ratings: 5: I will happily play this album anytime 4: I may occasionally play this album of my own free will 3: I will happily listen to this if someone plays it in the background 2: I will tolerate this if it is playing in the background 1: I will leave the room if someone plays this in the background Somehow this one had escaped me all this time. Really enjoyed it and every listen was better than the last. Not quite a 5, but a solid 4 / 4.5.

Kinda dull until it isn’t.

2.4 I always thought bands like Sonic Youth or newer bands like Metz or Vietcong were shoegaze bands and that I liked shoegaze. Maybe its a bigger genre? I didnt dig this or MBV or the like. There are certain aspects I like (sonic scapes, effects) but man, I find myself skipping through alot of it

shoegaze

Ok. Some of those harmonies were UGLY. I liked Vapour Trail.

I like this quite a bit.

jumping back and forth across the line between weird (respectful) and weird (derogatory)

whatever. kind of long and samey to be paying attention to the whole time

This was pretty vibey, I don't always enjoy shoegaze but the up-tempo poppier tracks were fun and none of it felt too draggy.

really cool album. it's noisey in all the right ways and catchy in a way that is really referential to a lot of rock that came before it. super fun listen and i would love to come back to this!

Great!

Not much to say, just a phenomenal album. I wouldn’t call it a 10, but definitely closer to 5 stars than 4

Nice album! Really picked up on the MBV.

Not a huge shoegaze fan. Some of the songs reminded me of old bands like The Church. This was hit or miss for me. I liked some of the songs.

That second half is stunning.

I can’t believe it took me 35 years to listen to this band for the first time. This album is required listening for any 90s kid.

On sellasta london calling kamaa. Räntäntänttää.

Pretty decent shoegaze influenced rock music; vocals are a bit thin when they should be soaring, but most of the time more than suffice. I've only listened to it once, so my opinion won't get more specific. Nothing in it grabbed me and demanded that I listen to it again, but it's more than serviceable and sounds like the kind of music that will be someone's favorite somewhere.

Sorprende Familiar Sonante Gustoiso Techo Saudade Embriagador Castries Ventana

微搖滾，沒有特別喜歡

What a waste of talentless dribble, what record executive got payola for this one?

bleh

3 - Ni fu, ni fa

Nice, but overstays its welcome and doesn’t quite compare to other shoegaze faves.

Um bom álbum, mas nada demais, nada que o explique na lista de 1001 discos para se ouvir antes de morrer. Gostei mais das últimas faixas, antes de descobrir que elas pertencem ao relançamento do cd, de resto não gostei tanto.

nice, paired up well with my feeling like shit for no reason at night session

3/5. Shoegaze is difficult to get into for me and I think part of it is the singing that is hard to understand. However, although the vocals are still an issue, the epic wall of sound and catchy riffs and instrumentation is what brings this album up. It feels optimistic and yet the lyrics tell another story. It's major chords with a dissonant and minor backdrop. And its loud to drown out the world around you, a positive feature of shoegaze usually. It's just not something I would say won me over. Overall, I think the album was good but not a go to for me. Best Song: Vapour Trail, Seagull, Polar Bear

This album sounds like the background music in a cafe scene of a B tier movie.

Хорошо впадать в транс (или просто засыпать). Заунывно и однообразно. 5 из 5.

5- Stars (13/15)

5/10 First band of my 1001 albums project that I'd never even heard of. Turns out I also didn't really know what shoegaze was. The first song had me hooked, thinking I was in for the treat of discovering something completely new that I really liked, but from there the album didn't really feel like it went anywhere, just dragging along. At their best, Ride are reminiscent of the Stone Roses, but the overall effect fell a long way short. Maybe in a different mood this album would resonate with me more but I can't imagine going back to it. Listens: 2

It was...fine, I guess. I don't feel the need to relisten.

fine - sounded kinda stone roses-y at times but i think that might’ve just be the guy’s voice

A bit too much of the same

Excellent!

I don't know. Needs more listens. Background music.

I think I only like shoegaze when it doesn’t wreck the songs through distortion. This was kind of irritating to hear.

Early indie

It was interesting listening to this post the shoegaze boom that has happened in the last few years. I enjoyed it a lot, and there were bits that were heavier than I would expect from what is essentially a British Indie album. Obviously it was too long, but if you condensed it to 45 mins we could've been on for a 5.

без изысков

Well that was different, and what an opening track! I mean, why did they bother? Thankfully after that they did actually make an attempt at playing music, and he proved he could sing if he wanted. Have never appreciated this type of guitar work, and only Velet Underground have ever made tracks where it sounded correct. It did improve massively after the opener (not difficult), but not enough for me. 2

I think I should like this, and shoe-gazing stuff, more than I do. It has all the components that I like. But it just seems to wash over me without leaving any real impression. Maybe that’s the point. Maybe it’s just a meditative thing, but I’m looking for more than that when I choose what to listen to. It’s ok enough for a mid 2.

Ah shoegaze. One of the finest sub sub sub genres of guitar music. Much maligned at the time, forgotten for years. Then a whole new generation rediscovered it in the mid 2010's. I personally have never forgotten it. It is intertwined with some of my favourite times of my life. Early 1990's bumming around mates flats and houses in north London, gigging and clubbing more nights than I should have. I love anything with lots of guitar effects, with a tune or not. Luckily Ride's debut has all these elements in spades. I remember reading a review of one of their early gigs in the NME and describing them 'like the House of Love with chainsaws'. What was not to like? Alan Moulder produced this too. Seagull a great opener with it's Beatles bass line, it just thunders along.with it's big crashing ending. kaleidoscope noise and pop done with a headlong rush to the finish. in A Different Place is a beautiful song, I love the chorus pedal leading this song. Polar Bear with it's tremelo ridden phased guitar line chugs along. Dreams Burn Down is majestic with it's feedback driven highs and crashing lows. A highlight of their sets in small pubs in Dunstable, and now in Brixton Academy. Decay ups the tempo again, with a scorching guitar line and thudding drums. The dreamy Paralysed is a pure pop song, with a tough of sadness about it. Everyone loves (or should love) Vapour Trail with that long intro/outro jangling along through it. This is in my top ten albums of all time. To be in there it has got to be able to cope with me discovering a new facet to it with every listen. This still keeps my attention after 35 years.

It was a nice album but it doesn’t stand out as anything special. Maybe I’m missing something.

10/10

The absolute pinnacle of the somewhat commercially silly but artistically tremendous "Shoegaze" movement. This album presses my very most powerful late teens/early 20s earnest yearning nostalgia buttons and brings to mind the faces of many girls I never asked out.

i love shoegaze!!!! this is such a good album. absolutely lush guitar and really interesting songwriting

Super bad ass. Don’t know why shoegaze people don’t mention them much.

Wasn’t for me. Went nowhere 🥁

Absolutely nothing interesting happens on this album. Why did they tune the drums to sound like buckets? The drummer clearly knows what he's doing, som why make it sound so flat?

Epic and swirling, at once melodic and driving, focused and sprawlingly windswept, this is shoegazing's high-water mark, surely. Editors are right about these songs being "coruscating epics." The great wash of fuzzy sound, the layering of Bonhamian bashing of drums (which are mad aggressive and unleashed at several paces and tempos) the barbed guitars under the blanket of distortion – despite the multi-dimensionality, it all reads at a stately pace and quite austere. The early run of songs – "Kaleidoscope," and "Polar Bear" and "Dreams Burn Down" are terrific and "IN a Different Place" is even better. "Vapour Trail" is a strong candidate for shoegazing's #1 all-time hit, just otherworldly in its catchiness – 33 ⅓ series has it as a shoegazing essential track and it's impossible to argue. The cello closeout is great – one's favorite moment in all the shoegazing canon. The sweet melodious melancholy and hard edges and intensity all washed over lovingly. One thinks of Gerhard Richter canvasses (as with MBV) – expansive and monolithic when viewed / heard from afar, but quite beautifully modulated and subtly shifting in another. Note the held note on "place" on the vocals for "In a Different Place," about four minutes in – this is just a guitar record or a producer's effort either. Within the relentless, urgent coruscations there are many well judged pop flourishes – the bit of jangle on "Kaleidoscope," the bouncy-hooky opening of "Decay," the acoustic guitar on "Paralysed," the first bit of the Stone Roses-esque "Taste," the harmonica (one thinks) on "Here and Now" – that add sweetness to the sonic assault. The lyrics are a plus, too – see "Dreams Burn Down," "Different Place," and "Vapour Trail, which suggest an emotional intensity that might stop them from lifting their gaze from their shoetops. These are the factors that makes it great and keeps it as relevant and powerful listeningThat it predates Loveless seems salient. Don't sleep on the EPs or later work, either, which showed the promise that made the "debut" Nowhere such a highly anticipated event

It's shoegaze. Great in certain situations, but ultimately hard to remember

Overall: 7/10 I would first like to point out that Slowdive's Souvlaki should have been included in this list... This is classic shoegaze. Super distorted guitar, monotone vocals, v i b e s, it's all here. What makes this one stand out from it's peers is that there seems to be an emphasis on really great drumming, and that element is certainly a highlight here. This isn't the type of music I can listen to for an incredibly long time but small doses when you're in the right mood can really make this music feel special. Check this one out if you wanna v i b e. Fav Song: Polar Bear Least Fav Song: Decay

che noiaaaaaa

Nice

Tidal only has the "expanded edition" of this album with 15 tracks. The original album had 8. After making it more than halfway through this album, I'm sure I won't be listening to any of the "expanded" content. 1. Not much of a fan of this 2. This either 3. First listenable track 4. Couldn't take the droning anymore. I had to skip ⅔ of the way through 5. Meh 6. Listenable 7. Listenable. Didn't skip 8. I'm quite enjoying this track, actually 9. Alright, I'm into the expanded content now. I'm out at the first inkling of trouble! 11. See ya, Ride. I'm out

2.5. Listening to this was acceptable background music, but I wouldn’t play it again.

This album is okay. I’ve always found Ride to be fairly standard indie—nothing groundbreaking, but still worth a listen. This record follows that trend. It has a strong Cure influence, with dark tones and melancholic lyrics. Definitely not an album to put on if you're looking for something uplifting. Favorite song: Vapour Trail—it was decent. Least favorite: Nothing stood out as particularly bad, but nothing really stood out as great either. The album is the definition of average. Album artwork: I actually really like the cover.

3.5

One of the classic shoegaze albums, but this one differs a bit from Slowdive or MBV in that it retains more of the basic rock song structure. I know I am biased as if I was being objective I'd probably give this a 4, but I'm giving it a 5 because it's awesome.

1.5 not for me

This was pretty damn good, I really liked “Dreams Burn Down”

Andy Bell from this band joined Oasis in the later years and I enjoyed his oasis time more than this but still some things I liked.

I've liked this one for a long time, enough to buy the special edition on vinyl a couple of years ago. I wasn't around for the first wave of shoegaze's popularity in the 90s, but was firmly on board the second wave in the early 2010s. It's a great album, definitely one of the best from the shoegaze years. I love the drive of the music, very strong in some places and nice and floaty in others. The vocals do get a bit annoying after a while though, and some of the lyrics are a bit immature. I can forgive it though, because it all ties together so brilliantly with Vapour Trail. Solid 9/10 for me.

I dig it.

I've never heard of Ride but after listening to 1 track, I immediately recognized the heavy and distorted guitars, drenched in delays which are so iconic for the Shoegaze genre. Personally, I enjoy the atmosphere that a lot of Shoegaze artists evoke but also reckon that there is a limit for me where all songs just coalesce into each other and become indistinguishable. I just disengage after a while but I tremendously enjoy the textures and vibes that this genre has created over the years. Nowhere has some really good tracks which I enjoyed such as Paralysed which had tremendous drums and an intoxicating bassline. In A Different Place was also one of the tracks that I really enjoyed. That said, there are some tracks which are just fine and perhaps overstay their welcome. As a whole I think that this album is decent but I am not entirely sure if I would revisit in the future. There weren't many melodies that stuck with me and it wasn't very memorable. Perhaps on repeated listens, the album will stick a bit more but I'd rather visit other artists in the same genre which have crafted more compelling sounds. It is a fine album.

Kind of like loveless but not quite as good. Has it's moments though.

This album really set the bar for this genre. And really, it doesn’t start showing hints of “pop” until the last couple songs of the album

tentado a poner 5 estrellas pero realmente lo guapo de este grupo son temas entre este disco, el siguiente y los eps anteriores.

This did absolutely nothing for me.

Okay!

Rode to Nowhere.

dreams burnt down

seemed like poppy stoner music to me, didn't get into it

This is an album I already knew well, and had even played relatively recently, so it was an instant 5 stars from me. I can see why not everyone would like this music, it's superficially similar to the Stone Roses and the Cure, but there's far more shoegaze elements, and a murky, full sound throughout. From the wall of white noise the guitar and particularly the drums stand out. The main vocals are fitting, giving a pleasing drone-like sound that matches the melancholy songs. Perfect for me when this came out, when I was only slightly older than the band (early 20s). I listened to the album, then the four bonus tracks that Spotify had, ones I'd never listened to before. I was expecting there to be a jar from the tracks I knew so well to the "new" (to me) ones, but it was almost imperceptible. It's a bit of a shame that Ride never really matched their debut album. The fact that they're still doing tours where they perform the entire Nowhere album instead of promoting newer material is telling.

This is all new to me, very sweet melodic shoe gaze with a few edgy moments, it washed over me like the wave on the album cover.

I guess it's good for Shoegaze, but I'm not a Shoegaze guy.

I love shoegaze and listen to a lot of it, but I will say I tend to like where it, and its twin sister dreampop, went more than where it started. This album’s good, but I’d rather listen to Hum, or Blankenberge, or Ovlov, or Stove.

I liked a lot. But, more as a background music than for an active listening.

Better than I expected but just another not noteworthy album. It just felt like nothing special and honestly, just listen to the Cure or the Smiths instead of this because this is just a mix of the two and isn’t as good as either of those bands.

Melancholic shoegaze. This will definitely do it for some people. But in my current state of mind, this isn't what I want out of listening to music. It's alright, but I want more than minor chords and nasal singing.

Now here’s something for Isaac

Indie inglês. Interessante

Likes the first song and then was too shoegazey for me

This was painful to listen to. It felt like I was listening for 3 hours and then I looked down and I was only halfway through the 4th song. 1.5 stars

Dreams Burn Down Vapour Trail

Yawn

Love the cover art. And, much to my surprise, I don't hate the music. Shoegaze generally irritates me beyond all reason. But this is quite listenable, lots going on to listen to and doesn't hurt my ears or brain.

Not particularly remarkable. Sort of an ethereal indie sound with some rough edges. Decent background music, but not particularly engaging to me.

Not terrible at all, droney and different.

Pretty good moody music. It would resonate well with a sad mood. Not the headspace I'm looking for but they pull it off well. Enjoyed the guitar tone and enough energy/heaviness to keep listening.

Excellent shoegaze album

It’s a 2.5 but I’ll give it a 3 cuz I enjoyed the vibes until they wore me out after the first few songs. If you love 90s guitar effects this is the record for you

A pretty good album, feels a little rough around the edges. The vocals could be better sounding.

I fell progressively more in love with and then a bit out of love with this album. It grew on me and I was loving it until the last track which I didn't like as much. Something about ending on that note brought it down to a 4 to me. Still though I overall really liked it. It's dreamy and oceanic.

Das Debütalbum Nowhere der britischen Band Ride erschien 1990 und zählt zu den frühen Werken des Shoegaze-Genres. Die Band nahm das Album in den Blackwing Studios in London auf, einem Studio, das für seine Arbeit mit verschiedenen Indie- und New-Wave-Künstlern bekannt war. Musikalisch verbindet Nowhere melodischen Gesang mit hallreichen Gitarren und einem dichten Klangbild. Die Produktion schafft eine Atmosphäre, in der die Instrumente ineinanderfließen, ohne an Struktur zu verlieren. Stücke wie Seagull oder Vapour Trail zeigen die Vorliebe der Band für Repetition und Klangflächen, während der Rhythmus meist treibend bleibt. Das Album wirkt in sich geschlossen und vermittelt eine Stimmung, die zwischen Zurückhaltung und Energie schwankt. Nowhere ist ein Beispiel für den Sound der frühen 90er-Jahre und verdeutlicht die klanglichen Möglichkeiten, die professionelle Studios in dieser Zeit boten.

Never expected this album to be on this list. I bought it in 1990 when I was at a pretty low point in my life and music was very important to me and a way of getting me through the mess I was in. I wanted to change my life so was striving also to change or educate my musical tastes to go along with the new me. Ride seemed to be a group to fulfil that aim so I bought the album more as a punt rather than knowing much about them. I knew that all the cool kids raved about them so another reason to involve myself with them. But what about the music? Well it didn’t reach my expectations and I always found it a hard listen despite my efforts to the contrary. Listening today revived those dark memories but not in a bad way. I’m such a different person and in a better place now so view this album as an important milestone in my life but it did not define it like I thought it might do. 3/5 30/1/25

Takler virkelig ikke sånt monotont flerstemt emo-kor 🤢

Litt fight club, litt Snatch, mye brit, litt emo, mye distortion. Synes dette er fett jeg men virker ikke som artistene helt synes det. Seagull Polar Bear 1t12m er for langt!

“Tiiiiiiiiiiime. Why is it measured in hourrrrrrsssss?” Deep lyrics, man.

1. Nowhere 2. Taste 3. Sennen Shoegaze is not my thing for 1 hour and 12 mins

Opens with a great drive to it - really feels like a ride. Slows down a bit with some nice emo and shoegazey elements which I don't mind at all. From there, I can't help but feel like it drags on a little bit too much...

Not a fan, really. Its not terrible, but I really don't love this kind of rock. A couple decent songs in there

Sooth but rocks

Pretty cool album. Can hear where some of the future brit pop sound was coming in.

Liked this, had never heard of them. Possibly a little bit repetitive (and I would normally have a high tolerance for bands gazing at their shoes) but still interested to listen to some of their other stuff

Boring

Dull…

I’ve somewhat surprisingly never listened to Ride before, so was intrigued as to what this would be like. As it turns out; it’s good! It was a lot noisier than I expected, and the frantic drumming helped distract from the fact it’s essentially the same Byrds song repeated over and over again. The version I was listening to was reasonably short, which meant I was able to keep more or less engaged throughout the whole thing.

A pleasant curtain of organised noise wit a clear 90's stamp. I quite like this. A good rhythm section, nice basslines, noisy (but not too noisy) guitars and melodic vocal lines. It is a bit samey though and doesn't move me, but I was happy to discover this.

Je pense parfois à Radiohead, parfois à The Cure, à Oasis ou à Arcade Fire. Pour 1990, me semble à l’avant-garde, et j’imagine qu’ils ont influencé beaucoup de monde

In a Different Place is good, very melodic with the thudding drums and bass. Dreams Burn Down has a big opening riff and I'm into it. Almost post rock vibes but the vocals are pure shoegaze. Crushing noisy guitars wash over us. Really strong track. Nice bass and melodies in Paralyzed, but Vapour Trail is the big song: the right mix of jangle and dreamy atmosphere, the lead riff repeating throughout. Grandiose and inspiring stuff. The three bonus tracks after didn't really add anything, and I stopped there, but this was a surprising hit for me. The best songs are _really_ good.

Surprised this was 1990

loved this chilled listening

Teilweise zu viel Noise für mich, der Stil der Vocals sagt mir auch nicht allzu sehr zu. Sind aber nicht so starke Kritikpunkte, 3 Sterne kann man da allemal geben.

All right album.

very pretty album, makes you feel like the album cover. better shoegaze out there (hell, better shoegaze for this band), but still

4.5/10

2,5

Melodic and noisey shoegaze, will want to revisit.

Listening to this album made me imagine running on a beach in California.

- war in Ordnung, aber auch wirklich unauffällig im Hintergrund irgendwie

Gave this one two listens. Definetly better on the second listen. It's a good album, with definetly some really cool songs on there. I love the incorporation of harmonica in a shoe gaze song. Worked surprisingly well. But the album does have a couple almost filler tracks, that don't really add anything to the album, and just kinda sit there. Personally as well, I was not a fan of the mix nor the singers voice. Mix was very bright and harsh, voice was very warm and mellow, and the two didn't sit well together in my opinion.

No es mi línea acustica

Sort of Cranberries meets Oasis with a nice edge. Pleasantly surprised.

Didn't love this but it's not the worst thing I've ever heard. Guitars were nice.

1st time listening this but I like it a lot.

Having never even heard of this band, I absolutely loved it. Will definitely be coming back to this!

Graciously cool album....

Had a good time with this. The music can be a bit buzzy and the lyrics can be a bit flat at times, but when a certain track puts everything together it's quite enjoyable.

One of my favs, so freaking good

Trevlig lättlyssnad pop med ett lager av vemod.

can we all agree that british men need to stop making music now im so sick of this. ITS AN OK ALBUM like its not horrible but bruh its NOT something you need to listen to before you die. this is such a generic noise rock album please dont piss me off with this bullshit. fuck this stupid fucking list i hate men.

Occasionally comes slide to being ‘ok’ but fails to really stretch itself out of mediocre. A solid sound for 1990 though.

This is very reminiscent of The Stone Roses, except I like Stone Roses more and this, apparently, came out after them. Every track kinda sounds the same, but they're not that hard on the ear. 3/5

Ah, this one. An album that a lot people whose opinions about music I respect and who share a fair bit of my taste seem to love, but I guess this might be a case of You Had To Be There. In 1990. Which is ccol. So likewise, I respect this and it shares a lot of musical traits with stuff *I* love, but I haven't quite warmed up to Nowhere. The vocals? The pop? Something. "Dreams Burn Down" and "Vapour Trails" are keepers for now, though. 10/10 cover art.

Noisy and not memorable.

I think I knew 30 seconds into this one that I was not going to enjoy this. I was correct.

Shoegaze forever! Editors get this absolutely right – tangled washes, gooey walls of sound (or walls of gooey sound), swirly/ethereal emotional sweep, etc. etc. A hyperfocused classic of a brief, bright microgenre, and one much better than its near contemporary grunge.

Meh. Musically ok, but the lyrics/singing brought it way down.

Shoegaze altrokkia. Ihan hyviäkin kappaleita, vokaalit oli upotettu miksaukseen ja olivat hiukan puuduttavan kuuloiset välillä. Parhaat: In a Different Place, Vapour Trail

It felt like a less interesting Oasis. I won't listen again

Big, dreamy, atmospheric, melancholy, prettyyy

Pleasantly surprised. This had way more momentum and grit than I assumed It’d have. I was honestly vibing the whole time.

It wasn't the My Bloody Valentine-style album I was expecting. "Nowhere" was just a bunch of average rock songs. I theoretically could've loved this album. Somehow, I didn't enjoy "Nowhere" too much. The sound was still good though 3 stars for "Nowhere".

“Nowhere” is tuneful but not catchy, sensitive but even-tempered, noisy but delicately so, music I avoided when young expecting to hate it, and probably would have, but it’s a picnic, bucolic in the Romantic way: if John Constable painted soundscapes, they’d feel like this. You can feel it in the granularity of the timbres, the eschewal of big, gestural riffs, and the graceful sweeps and swerves of chord sequences; diligence is behind these constructions, Olympian drumming back there once you start paying attention. They go hard and fast, tyres squealing, but never leave the road, a doggedness that I can now appreciate.

bought it when it came out based on hype alone and love it to this day. really really awesome debut, shame they never matched it. Great live band too

More Dream Pop than Shoegaze in my opinion, but a super solid listen. I’m not typically a huge Shoegaze fan, but the drumming on Rise gives the album a real rocker feel, much more so than something like Loveless, which makes me feel like I’m living in a fog. This was an hidden gem for me. Also note, this took my multiple listens to truly appreciate. It’s the second listen that truly blew me away. 3.7/5

This is an album is HAVE TO LISTEN TO BEFORE I DIE?! It’s…fine…

Das Album Nowhere von Ride, das 1990 erschien, wird oft als Meilenstein des Shoegaze-Genres gefeiert. Mit seinen verschwommenen Gitarrenwänden, verträumten Melodien und melancholischen Texten definierte es einen Sound, der bis heute Fans und Musiker inspiriert. Doch aus heutiger Sicht wirkt die Platte mitunter etwas gewöhnlich – insbesondere, wenn man sie mit anderen Größen des Genres wie My Bloody Valentine oder Slowdive vergleicht. Schon der Opener „Seagull“ zeigt das typische Markenzeichen von Ride: treibende Basslinien, hallende Gitarren und mehrstimmiger Gesang. Dennoch fehlt hier das gewisse Etwas, das die Songs über die Genrestandards hinausheben könnte. Tracks wie „Polar Bear“ oder „Dreams Burn Down“ bleiben zwar melodisch im Ohr, wirken jedoch oft zu glatt und vorhersehbar, um langfristig Eindruck zu hinterlassen. Ein Highlight ist zweifelsohne „Vapour Trail“, das mit seinem schlichten Arrangement und den melancholischen Streichern einen emotionalen Höhepunkt des Albums darstellt. Dennoch kann dieser Moment nicht das Gefühl durchbrechen, dass Nowhere als Ganzes etwas eintönig bleibt und an Abwechslung mangelt. Insgesamt ist Nowhere ein solides Album, das seine historische Bedeutung nicht leugnen kann. Doch für Hörer, die nach herausragenden Momenten oder innovativen Ansätzen suchen, könnte es am Ende nur „mäßig“ wirken. Vielleicht ist es mehr ein Album, das man schätzt, wenn man die Entstehungszeit im Blick hat, weniger aber als zeitloser Klassiker.

It's been a hot minute since I listend to the Ride. I was so caught up in the music that I forgot to pay attention to the song names to mark as my favourites. Which I guess is what would happen if I was gazing at my shoes too. Faves: Polar Bear, Dreams Burn Down.

I've checked out Ride before but they've generally played second fiddle to MBV and Slowdive (No Slowdive on the list? Dimery you berk.) so this is a good opportunity to get to know them better. I dig the injection of psychedelia! I was thinking this was a 4, maybe a 4.5, but decided to treat myself to a third play through to pick out some fave tracks, and started noting down almost all of them as I kept going "Oh yeah, this is a good un" as they started, so actually upgrading this to a 5 makes sense! Fave tracks - "Seagull" is a great opener, with great psych elements. I like the vibes of "In a Different Place" and "Polar Bear", and now I'm gonna stop listing tracks and bump the whole thing to a 5, heh.

Great, muscular shoegaze with some of the best gems the genre has to offer, like Vapour Trail, Dreams Burn Down and Kaleidoscope.

This album didn't take me anywhere, as the title says, but at least it was music, which not all the albums in this list can pretend to be.

Shoegaze at its best! Love that first offering from Ride!

2.6 1x

Pretty boring and average. Ok to listen to, but nothing special.

A few of the tracks stared out ok, but went downhill pretty fast. Long, boring and truly terrible drums. Further confirmation that shoegaze was a blip

Very slow and noisy

This was okay. It would have me for a song or two, but then totally lose me again. Maybe you had to be there.

Surprisingly good early grunge pop 🤘

Chaotic at the beginning, 2. Then notmal, 3. Then it got better towards the end. 4

shoegaze chilling wibing, utta herra sanoo obj 3 star selvä

It's a great sound but I wish there were better vocals and tunes attached to it

Love it!

I didn't think too much of this album on first listen, but it has grown on me a little bit with each subsequent listen. I get the feeling that this is an album that you would grow to love over time. The paradox is there is nothing here that would entice me to revisit it.

There was nothing I hated. It just washed over me and left absolutely no impression. 2.5/5

This a good album, just not my genre tbh. I don't really know how to rate this, cause like idk. None of them are really playlist worthy for me, but then again I don't really fuck with shoegaze, kinda a slow and boring genre for me. I will accept I am wrong with this rating, but 1/5.

Meh. Sounds like the kind of band that would leave you disappointed and with ears ringing after seeing them live. So many murky guitar layers but no definition.

I'd never heard of this one at all but was immediately struck by the incredible album cover! What an awesome shot. Vocals in Seagul struck me as a cross between AltJ and stone roses. The full shoegazy instrumentation is well-anchored by clean driving energetic drums. Really enjoyed this great album.

I had never heard of this band before. There were some hits and misses on this album, and it felt like it just kept going on and on.

Good chill rock album, not my favorite shoegaze, but would listen some more.

Not sure if it's a must-listen, but it was enjoyable.

Did not like it. Never heard of Ride before listening to this album. I feel I haven’t missed anything & have determined from the experience that I won’t miss out if I never listen to Ride again.

Nowhere is one of those albums that do not necessarily feel aside from just being immersed in it. The music is layered, the vocals are there, but there is nothing really special about it. The listener simply listens and if that is what is right with the world, then it is. The surprising thing about this album is that it is from 1990, and at least in America, this type of music did not really hit US airwaves until grunge changed the landscape of American rock and introduced Alternative, where a band like Ride could succeed. All that to say is this album is worth listening before death, but also worth listening to before 1991.

been meaning to check out more shoegaze, i’ve always liked the little bit i’ve heard in passing. loved this album, bonus points for the cover being hard as hell

Not my kind of music in general and not that I will listen to any of its tracks ever again but the album is really decent. Too many sounds and noises for me but there are some interesting tracks and the whole sounding is good. I'm really far from being a shoegaze fan but if stars align I someday might relisten the whole album.

Calling this album shoegaze made me reflect on how boring it is to stare at your shoes, is that the point?

Meh. Not bad. But didn't feel too strongly one way or the other about it.

When I think about shoegaze, it's exactly this that I think of. Washes of guitar, elegiac vocals buried in the mix, a creeping sense of emotion that's quite hard to place. The musicianship on this is also absolutely first rate, and the production quality is top notch, as it has to be for the genre to avoid sounding a bit muddy I reckon. This has immediately gone on my vinyl wish list.

Monotonous drivel.

aooooo álbum bão esse é bom demais, não tem base me lembra de quando eu era adolescente e escutava ride no escuro 2h da manhã mexendo no pc escondido dos meus pais pq era uma quarta feira e eu tinha aula as 7h

carai. esse tem MUITO tempo MESMO que não escuto nada. vô começa falando que eu não curtia muito esse album inteiro nos meus bons tempos de adolescente shoegazero não. mas PORRA QUE ALBÃO. só pedrada atras de pedrada. é ser arrebatado pela maré da capa, com alguns momentos de tranquilidade sendo levado pra costa, até o mar te puxar de volta com muita barulheira. ce eh maluco. bão demais. inclusive, é um shoegaze com uma bateria mais viva né, isso é mto bom. o baterista soube viver demais nesse album aqui

Kinda ambient jamming music from 1990. Pleasant and smooth.

Noise

it was a very classic rock vibe, which I like. The sounds were kinda repetitive within most songs, but that made them pretty chill. I would definitely listen to this album on a road trip.

Fine but boring

Insufferable, dreary, boring.

En ouvrant le generateur ce matin, j’ai roulé des yeux en voyant un énièmes album rock Indie des années 90. J’ai re-roulé des yeux en écoutant la première chanson, ayant l’impression d’avoir déjà entendu cet arrangement musical et ces vocales lancinantes une vingtaine de fois auparavant dans cette liste. Puis, à la moitié de l’album, un lien c’est créé dans ma petite tête. La trace de la bête se dessinait: la voix chignarde du chanteur, l’instrumentation approximatif mixé en un pain de distorsion, ainsi que l’absence totale de joie. Tout devenait plus clair désormais, mon ennui se transformant en terreur quand mon esprit susurra le nom de la bête: Radiohead. J’arracha les écouteurs de mes oreilles, les balançant du bout de mes bras le plus loin possible, me recroquevillant sur moi même pendant plus de deux heures.

Strong start but gets a little same-y and too long.

Definitely felt like the 90s.

This music is a fun balance of twinkly guitars and distorted overdrive. Enjoyable.

Ok

I have a complicated history with this album. The first time I listened to it, I didn't think much of it. It was "okay" at best, and none of the tracks stood out for me. I still believe this, none of the songs stand out, some of them have the capacity of, but there quite get there. Then again, as an album, it is great. Though now I have permanently tainted it, by listening to it while angrily trying to speedrun Super Mario Bros. for NES, and failing every time. So yeah. There's that. 8/10 but I never want to listen to it again.

Meh . . .

My highlight was, when they rhymed "fly" with "sky"

That was so hard to muscle through. At times I got REM vibes, but I love REM and I hated Ride. Just couldn’t wait for it to be over.

Was pretty good, might try another listen.

Some of these songs are sick and I love the shoegaziness. It drags on a tad too long, and it’s also not the best Ride album IMO. Light 4

Generally I'm not super stoked when a band from the UK that I've never heard of pops up on this list. Looking in to this band more, I was encouraged to see that some US media sources praised this album as being a seminal shoegaze record. I can dig. I listened to the 72 minute version that came out on CD and while it's solid, I would say it falls a bit short of being seminal like the real heavy hitters in shoegaze. Enjoyable enough for sure, but nothing spectacular.

Can appreciate 90s grunge but listened to the album twice through and didn't save a song. Missed the mark for me.

CATCH UP: NOVEMBER 11 Alright so I haven't heard this thing since I was a literal child, but one thing's for certain: there might be a reason for that? I consistently like it but I prefer my shoegaze with a bit more edge and alt rock lean to it, this still feels very informed by jangle pop and baggy styling that I'm not super into. It's still really good and I'm forced to give it 4 stars thanks to this site's lack of half stars, but man this is the most quintessential 7/10 thing that's ever 7/10ed. Swervedriver is better. 7/10

Not feeling it today. Finding it monotonous.

First introduction to Ride and I really did enjoy it, muddy shoegaze sound with some shimmery dream pop. Made for an enjoyable listen, thought the drumming was great. Maybe I’m way off but kinda sounded like Stephen Morris from Joy Division at times, on Polar Bear especially, maybe that was why I enjoyed that track the most. The vocals aren’t great and that would be my only gripe, Drums Burn Down with Robert Smith singing would actually be a fantastic Cure song, the minute long sprawling opening sounded so great and then the vocals are just meh. Still a really good album. 4 stars

This album was terrible. I'm kinda floored it's on the list. I had never heard of them before, now I know why.

good

Tough to rate. None of it’s bad but none of it really commands your attention either

This was a bit of a slog.

Best Song: Today. At least it builds up in a crescendo to the album finally being over. Worst Song: Dreams Burn Down. A flat and shrill song that occasionally jumps into almost unlistenable levels of shrill for contrast. Overall: Although the album seems somewhat interesting at the beginning, the constant monotonous volume of noise without meaningful variation or interruption begins to wear on you and you're left with an endless stream of swirly guitars and shrill, snarling chords. Eventually you're left with the feeling of being trapped tumbling in a washing machine, the water filling your ears, while just outside two cats are fighting.

Wow. Ride are basically the Stone Roses, or the Stone Roses are basically Ride!

# 354 : Another snore fest. I don’t greatly dislike this. I just have no interest in ever listening to it again. Shrug

3.5/ good

Again, one of those bands that I remember from the nineties, but never really got into. This time round.... hmm. "Full of sound and fury.... but signifying nothing." An hour after listening to the whole album, my only recollections were "guitars, 1960's flashbacks and feedback". I'm guessing it made it onto the 1001 list as they knew the organiser.

Every song sounded like a different indie/britpop/alternative band from the 80's - 90's - and not one made me think, oh yeah, this is Ride. Who?

I fail to see where's the charm on this record

Een potpourri van een huismerk R.E.M., U2 en een laag shoegaze. Het is geen verkeerde muziek, het is aardig alternatief en een 3 kan ik er wel voor geven natuurlijk, maar ik kan me niet voorstellen dat dit in een dergelijke lijst ook maar enig bestaansrecht heeft. Met 1 uur en 11 minuten een aardig tikkeltje aan de lange kant ook, maar dat zal wel bij het genre horen. Het zeurderige zingen gaat dan op een gegeven moment wel optellen. Maargoed. Gitaren en shit. 3 sterren.

Shoegaze classic. The most organic of the cornerstone shoegaze albums.

有点味道

This felt like a rockier version of The Stone Roses which makes for a pleasant experience. Maybe that’s mainly because the singer reminds me of Ian Brown rather than the music itself, but there definitely do seem to be some parallels between the production. Despite the distorted guitars, this felt like a very calming listen, making for an enjoyable soundtrack to me going through my Jupyter notebook uni work. This album definitely sounds like 90’s UK britpop/showgaze, so is certainly of its time, but my ears still enjoy it.

Halfway through I’m already pretty sick of the vocal delivery (just very monotonous, little range) but I love the overall vibe and the noisey-screetchy moments are pretty awesome. It’s reminding me a bit of the early Sloan stuff, which I LOVE - except this is a bit less 'pop', less jangly, less... interesting? Overall a good listen for me. I'm stretching this up to a 4 though I'm maybe rounding up from a high 3

I didn't love this but I did like it a lot.

Big album, in a few different senses of the term. This was, at times, a headrush; yet the choppy waters are often becalmed in moments of almost transcendent beauty. I can imagine fancying the kind of girl who likes 'Nowhere'.

If this is on here and no My Bloody Valentine albums are, I’ll be very disappointed. This was good but not great.

A lot of what came after this record is boring and terrible and that makes me want to hate it... But... When pioneers do it right straight out of the gate it's hard to blame them for only a few bands being able to improve upon it.

I really liked this. I think you definitely need to be in a certain vibe to listen to it though.

I'll be the first to say that aside from heavy hitters like Slow Dive and MBV, '90s shoegaze has always been very hit-or-miss for me. Sadly, I was on the milder side for 'Nowhere'. I just started phasing out after the song 'Polar Bear'. The individual songs just weren't gripping me in any way, and the washed-out vocals, a shoegaze staple, started to take their toll on my mind. It's just so background-y, not bad at all but trying to stay focused here was a challenge. The songs are very static, and they all sound very similar to one another. For as much as I didn't like the vocals, the lyrics did fit quite snuggly into this atmosphere - constantly projecting these dream-like images onto the music - I especially liked the morbidity of the song 'Decay'. I also really liked 'In a Different Place', the almost metal-sounding opening guitars to 'Paralyzed', and the gorgeous final minute or so of 'Vapour Trail' that leads into this sole violin, sending the album off. Aside from that though, I didn't really get much out of this listen.

Pretty great. Wasn't the biggest fan of the vocals at the start but they employ a different style as it goes on (if not a different vocalist altogether). Some beautiful, busy music, in any case. Dreams Burn Down is fantastic.

Believe me, I am all in on shoegaze, or so this band is attributed as fundamental to the genre, even if the band itself disagrees. Enough about gazing, 'Nowhere' is somewhat psychedelic and fuzzy and noisy, but not that compelling. Any of their other albums would be more appropriate on this list.

Like a less daring but more accessible MBV! Vapor Trail is an awesome album closer. Wonder if Andy is gonna do the Oasis reunion shows.

It's possible to make a noise that sounds almost good, but it's still a noise!

Ok, now THIS is showgaze, that I like! For me it is the first positive experience with this genre on this list. Unlike the complete ear rape from bands like "My Bloody Valentine" this one is listenable and interesting. I like the production and instrumental-action (especially the drumming!!) very much. Ride >>>> mvb

A truly seminal album at a time when this genre was really gaining a foothold. I do prefer shoegaze/Noise in small doses, say one side of a record, but this manages to remain fresh and interesting especially upon second listen

What a find!! Absolutely loved this. List, you have fully atoned for inflicting 4 albums of shit from the Beastie Boys on me.

Compact wall of sound with intriguing but beautiful melodies in what is one of the more significant shoegaze releases. Not sure it’s an album I had to hear before I die, but a worthwhile listen nonetheless. Favorite songs: Seagull, Decay, Dreams Burn Down, Nowhere 3⭐️

this is boring! 1/5

Solid vibes - will relisten. Also, loved the album artwork.

Eh, like 2 good songs. Nothing too special here. Sometimes the music was way louder than their voices and it got annoying.

Pretty meh. Not a lot of energy and no standout tracks here.

Listening to Ride's Nowhere today has been instructive. From a measurement perspective, this record is a high four rating. But that is beside the point. This record reminds me that my listening pleasure is pinned to a few qualities that must be present in some amount for it to work for me: urgency, dynamics, and melody. Basic stuff, but also there's a critical role that volume plays in a band like Ride where without it you miss a lot of what is there on offer. Ride often seem to be chasing a wave or a washing over you feeling that isn't as effective when it's quiet. When things are quiet you might be able to tell if the song is urgent or if its rhythm is languorously applied and so you may be fooled into a feeling of monotony that volume will reveal shouldn't be an adjective you'd apply at all. Anyway, in short, sometimes the album of the day just needs a second listen with the volume cranked up so you can correct a first impression; e.g. "Sometimes the Ride just doesn't seem to take off. Today's album of the day should've been an easy win. Maybe I was distracted or maybe too many songs were too similar?" Glad I got that sorted and was able to appreciate the record in full.

I like Ride a lot, and this album is nostalgia filled for me

I still don't get what Shoegaze is, but can you please fortheloveofallthingsholy figure it out in less than an hour???? I literally had the Ramones classic yesterday that was 34 minutes that said 10 times as much as this. Seriously, cheer up. 3/5

Enjoyable throughout, solid hazy noisiness and good energy

Not bad for a shoegaze album. Almost 4

Phenomenal work with beautiful, distorted, but ultimately transcendent, songs. The original ended with ‘Vapour Trail’ which was so poignant it hurt. Magnificent album. A Shoegaze classic.

This album might finally get me into shoegaze

I guess this is how I learn that shoegaze isn't really my thing. It's good for what it is, I guess.

This was solid.

esto es oasis antes de oasis. arranca muy bien, despues se va quedando

Está bastante bien, pero medio repetitivo che. Por algo Oasis y Blur son Oasis y Blur.

I'm not quite sure why this is on the list. Maybe because it was popular at the time? I listened, but I won't ever come back to it.

Shoegaze, Ride's debut. Yep, well done boys, good process. The fast, Byrdsy ones are great but the gorgeous ones are the slowest. In a Different Place. Dreams Burn Down is an absolute monster. This is late night music. If we stop after the delicious Vapour Trail (the original end point) there is not a single track less than great, so I'm rating it thusly.

I forgot these guys existed. Middle of the road album for shoegaze fans. I prefer Jesus and Mary Chain far more than this. Lush, Curve, and Catherine Wheel are also valid Shoegaze acts.

It was okay

chill

**Album Review: *Nowhere* by Ride** *Nowhere* by Ride, released on October 15, 1990, is considered a landmark album in the shoegaze genre, blending dreamy soundscapes with post-punk energy. As the debut full-length album from the British band Ride, it established the group as a key player in the burgeoning shoegaze movement alongside contemporaries like My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive. Below is an in-depth review of *Nowhere*, focusing on its lyrics, music, production, themes, and influence, while also highlighting the album's strengths and weaknesses. ### **1. Music** The sound of *Nowhere* is quintessentially shoegaze, but with a unique spin that sets Ride apart from their peers. Where My Bloody Valentine’s *Loveless* is hazier and more disorienting, Ride’s approach to shoegaze leans into melodicism and structured songwriting. This is apparent right from the opening track, “Seagull,” which features a driving bassline and energetic drumming that propels the song forward with a post-punk vigor, before giving way to waves of reverb-drenched guitars. The band's guitar interplay, particularly between Mark Gardener and Andy Bell, is one of the most distinguishing features of the album. Their use of layered, distorted guitars creates a shimmering wall of sound, but the clarity of their chord progressions and melodic lines ensures that the music remains accessible. The use of effects pedals is prominent, with delay, reverb, and chorus pedals playing a central role in creating the album's ethereal, dreamy quality. Tracks like "Polar Bear" and "Dreams Burn Down" exemplify this blend of dreaminess and intensity. "Polar Bear," in particular, stands out for its unconventional time signature and delicate guitar work, contrasted with heavy distortion that rises and falls in waves, reflecting the band's ability to balance both delicacy and power within a single song. One of the album's biggest musical strengths is its dynamic range. Many songs begin softly or slowly before exploding into chaotic, feedback-laden climaxes. This creates a sense of movement and emotional release that gives *Nowhere* a cathartic quality. However, some critics argue that the album can become repetitive towards the middle, as the band leans heavily on the same guitar textures and production techniques throughout. This gives the album a cohesive sound but can make individual songs blend together for listeners unfamiliar with the genre's conventions. **Pros:** - Masterful use of guitar textures, with intricate interplay between melody and noise. - Strong dynamic contrasts, with songs building to intense, cathartic crescendos. - Catchy melodies and well-structured songwriting make it more accessible than some other shoegaze records. **Cons:** - The reliance on similar guitar effects and textures throughout can make the album feel repetitive. - Some songs, particularly in the middle of the album, lack distinctive hooks or moments, causing them to blur together. ### **2. Lyrics** The lyrics on *Nowhere* are impressionistic, often cryptic, and serve more as another layer of atmosphere rather than the focal point of the songs. Themes of isolation, introspection, longing, and disillusionment run throughout the album. The lyrics rarely tell clear narratives, instead capturing fleeting emotions and abstract thoughts. For example, in “Seagull,” Gardener sings, “You wake up in the morning and you’re finding everything / The same, or are you finding everything has changed?” The lyrics suggest a feeling of being stuck in a cycle of monotony, while also hinting at the possibility of change. These vague and open-ended lines reflect the often ambiguous emotional tone of shoegaze lyrics, where the mood of the music carries more weight than the specific content of the words. Similarly, in “Vapour Trail,” the album's most well-known track, the lyrics are sparse and dreamlike. Lines like “First you look so strong / Then you fade away” evoke a sense of fleeting beauty and loss. The vagueness of the lyrics allows listeners to project their own emotions onto the song, making it a deeply personal and universal experience at the same time. One of the main critiques of *Nowhere*'s lyrics is that they lack the depth or specificity that some listeners might expect. For fans of more narrative-driven songwriting, the abstract, almost impressionistic quality of the lyrics might feel underdeveloped or secondary to the music. However, within the context of shoegaze, where vocals are often treated as just another instrument, the lyrics on *Nowhere* serve their purpose well. **Pros:** - Abstract, poetic lyrics enhance the dreamlike atmosphere of the album. - Universal themes of longing, isolation, and disillusionment make the songs emotionally resonant. **Cons:** - Lyrics are often vague and lack depth, which may alienate listeners looking for more narrative or thematic substance. - Vocals can be buried in the mix, making the lyrics hard to discern at times. ### **3. Production** The production on *Nowhere* plays a crucial role in shaping its sound. Produced by Marc Waterman, the album is characterized by its dense, layered sound, with guitars enveloped in reverb and delay. The production is lush and immersive, which is essential for creating the album's shoegaze atmosphere. The vocals are often mixed low, blending in with the rest of the instrumentation rather than sitting on top of it. This is a hallmark of shoegaze production, and while it can make the lyrics difficult to discern, it also helps to reinforce the dreamlike, otherworldly quality of the music. The drums and bass are given more prominence in the mix than in many other shoegaze albums, which gives *Nowhere* a sense of momentum and energy. This helps to differentiate Ride’s sound from the more ethereal, amorphous soundscapes of bands like Slowdive. For example, tracks like "Seagull" and "Decay" feature driving, almost punk-like rhythms that push the songs forward with urgency. While the production of *Nowhere* is largely praised, there are moments where the dense layers of sound can feel overwhelming, particularly for listeners unfamiliar with shoegaze. The mix can become muddy in places, with the guitars and effects pedals sometimes overshadowing the vocals and other instruments. **Pros:** - Lush, immersive production that perfectly captures the dreamy, atmospheric sound of shoegaze. - Strong emphasis on bass and drums, giving the album more energy and punch than many shoegaze records. **Cons:** - The dense layers of sound can become overwhelming or muddy at times. - Vocals are often buried in the mix, making them hard to distinguish from the guitars. ### **4. Themes** *Nowhere* touches on themes of isolation, disillusionment, and existential longing, but in a way that feels impressionistic rather than didactic. Many of the songs seem to deal with personal reflection and emotional ambivalence, as well as a sense of yearning for something just out of reach. "Vapour Trail" is perhaps the clearest example of this, with its themes of loss and fading beauty. The song is a meditation on impermanence and the fragility of human relationships. The image of a "vapour trail" suggests something fleeting and transient, which ties into the broader theme of emotional disconnection that runs throughout the album. Other tracks, like "In a Different Place" and "Dreams Burn Down," explore themes of alienation and dissatisfaction. These themes are enhanced by the dreamlike quality of the music, which often feels like it's floating in a hazy, in-between state. There’s a sense of melancholy and introspection that permeates the album, but it’s balanced by moments of catharsis and release, particularly in the more dynamic sections of the songs. While these themes are not unique to *Nowhere*—many shoegaze albums explore similar emotional terrain—Ride handles them with subtlety and nuance, allowing the music to carry much of the emotional weight. **Pros:** - Themes of isolation, longing, and disillusionment are conveyed effectively through both lyrics and music. - The balance between melancholy and catharsis gives the album emotional depth. **Cons:** - Themes are often vague and underdeveloped, which might leave some listeners wanting more lyrical or thematic clarity. ### **5. Influence and Legacy** *Nowhere* has had a significant influence on the shoegaze genre and beyond. While My Bloody Valentine’s *Loveless* is often considered the definitive shoegaze album, *Nowhere* holds a special place for its accessibility and melodic sensibility. The album helped to bring shoegaze to a wider audience, bridging the gap between the underground and more mainstream indie rock listeners. The album's influence can be heard in later bands that blend shoegaze with more traditional rock and pop structures. Bands like DIIV, Beach House, and Nothing have cited *Nowhere* as an influence, and the album's fusion of dreamy soundscapes with driving rhythms has become a blueprint for many modern shoegaze and dream pop acts. However, *Nowhere*'s influence extends beyond shoegaze. Its combination of post-punk energy with lush, atmospheric production helped pave the way for bands in the indie rock and alternative scenes of the '90s and 2000s. Its lasting impact can be seen in the resurgence of shoegaze in the 2010s, with many contemporary artists drawing inspiration from the sound and aesthetic of *Nowhere*. **Pros:** - A landmark album in the shoegaze genre, influencing countless bands in shoegaze, dream pop, and indie rock. - Its blend of accessibility and experimentalism has ensured its lasting appeal over decades. **Cons:** - While influential, *Nowhere* has sometimes been overshadowed by other shoegaze albums, particularly *Loveless* by My Bloody Valentine. ### ** Conclusion** *Nowhere* by Ride is a quintessential shoegaze album that combines dreamy soundscapes with post-punk energy and melodic sensibility. Its strengths lie in its masterful use of guitar textures, dynamic songwriting, and emotional depth. While its abstract lyrics and dense production may alienate some listeners, the album's influence on the shoegaze and indie rock scenes is undeniable. With its themes of isolation, longing, and disillusionment, *Nowhere* remains a timeless exploration of the human experience, cloaked in layers of shimmering sound. **Overall Pros:** - Intricate guitar work and dynamic song structures. - Dreamy, immersive production. - Emotional depth and thematic resonance. **Overall Cons:** - Repetition in guitar textures can make the album feel monotonous in places. - Vague lyrics may lack depth for some listeners.

One of those albums where people say "this is it, this album will *change you*" and you're like "ok, lets give it a listen" and once it ends you find are absolute unmoved in the slightest... Is it me? Is my soul lacking something? No, it's Ride, Ride are the ones who are in the wrong....

The opening and closing tracks are some of shoegaze's greatest, but the middle never really stuck with me. I still think this is a good album, but Loveless and especially Souvlaki have it beat by a country mile. Either a strong 3 or a weak 4 - I'm feeling generous today though.

Pretty good

Production sounds a bit muddy but there are some really good moments on this album. Andy Bells guitar sounds really big at times despite the bass and drums sounding squashed. I thought the album was a bit on the long side, there are a couple of tracksthat are filler, but I will definitely listen to it again. 8/10

While I'm not a massive fan of shoegaze, it is a genre I kind of like. I bought this album on release (I think partly because it was on Creation!). It's a significant album in the sense it one of the main shoegazy type albums and influential in that genre. I bet these guys were great live.

It was ok, not something I'd revisit, but it had it's moments I suppose. 3/5

Buenas guitarras, interesantes desarrollos...

shoegaze, it's okay but not gripping

Piola

It's such a whatever album. 2/5

Sounds like 80’s alternative mashed with Oasis-era British pop. It’s ok - nothing novel or extraordinary. I enjoyed it for what it was.

4/5

An excellent choice! I’ve come to realize that the alternative that I grew up listening to in the 90s was really the end of a movement that had gas in the 80s as well. And while Nirvana should get credit for popularizing a certain sound, bands like Ride were already breaking the mold before Nevermind.

Did not enjoy this

This was fantastic until the vocals came in, then it plummeted downhill... that's a shame, I was just thinking of adding it to my running playlist. Backing, beat, bass, drums and guitars are really infectious - the vocals are just terrible. But after half a dozen back to back plays, it grew on me. This is easiy the best shoegaze I've heard.

It was obvious that I had listened to a lot of the same records as Ride in the 80s. So, I always felt like I was supposed to like them as much as the music papers did but they have never fully clicked for me and still don't. I like their sound ok but the songs and the vocals not so much. Dreams Burn Down is good.

Deservedly one of the big classic albums of shoegaze. I enjoy how Ride's vocals are a bit more clear in the mix than a lot of shoegaze. They do a good job of balancing that wall of sound with more concrete sound.

4 - Reminded me a of a more cohesive version of ‘hail to the theif’ some tracks really give me Radiohead vibes, but they’re much easier and soothing to listen to

Once again, slightly pissed that I haven't heard this before but really pleased though to have finally heard it. Ahead of its time. The massive, nearly overwhelming wash of guitar wouldn't work nearly as well without the bombast of the rhythm section, which 'swings' a little, for lack of a better term. The slightly out of tune singing is MY only complaint, but it has a unique charm. And it's not just a constant barrage. There are some subtle moments, a wide range of emotion. I can see Radiohead using this as a bit of a template for sure. But Ride is blast of dark energy that has a spontaneity that Radiohead never approached, a dreamy unpolished rawness.

Kut album

Riding on the fumes if Breathless, MBV, and Galaxie 500. An ok album, but nothing special or unique. Off-brand shoegaze doesn’t belong on a list of essential listening.

Seagull. Great start! Boom, gets your foot tapping right off the bat. bright guitar tones, delay on the vocals. Flange.

God i hate his whiny british voice!

Первый шугейз альбом в списке для меня. Я никогда не был крупным фаном группы Ride, мне всегда казалось, что на фоне MBV и Slowdive они меркнут. Но одновременно с этим не впечатлять на фоне таких гигантов жанра, да и музыки в целом, - это совсем не стыдно. Тем более впечатляюще, что этим людям было в районе 20, когда этот альбом вышел. Это хороший альбом, который звучит чуть менее шугейз, чем хотелось бы, но всё же далеко не альт-рок начала 90-ых или там инди-рок любого периода. Лучшая песня - Dreams Burn Down.

Long but somewhat interesting.

-One of the first definitive shoegaze albums I think I’ve listened to. Not bad, but maybe not super suited to my taste? I should def listen to it again I think. The guitar effects are all super cool though -Favorites are Kaleidoscope, Decay, and Vapour Trail

I have not heard this band since the early 90s. This is a nice blast from the past. So 1990. Think I like this more now. Seagull is a banger. The whole album is an easier listen than I expected. Nice head bopping background music. Not too loud, but not boring either. A really good example of the style of the time. 4/5

Gear: Hifiman Arya Artwork: 🌊🐬🧘🏻 Mix: 🧏‍♂️📏💩 Musik: 🥱😬❌ Wertung: 🌊🌊/5

Great songs! Not sure if it was the singing or production (both?) but this would rock with a better singer! This singer isn’t bad but it all kind of drones together. Enjoyed this one! 3.5/5

I really liked "Vapour Trail" and I'll return to "Seagull" and "Dreams Burn Down" as well. All the best moments on this album came without the vocals during jams or the frenetic finish of the opening track, which I'd consider a mark against the album, but this is shoegaze after all so I don't know... Regardless, some good tunes and some skips. A solid 3.

A great example of the languishing attitude of some branches of alt rock in the 90s. Great music to put on when putzing around the house.

Fine

Bet they were good live! Zzzzzz

Its the same song all over again. Not good

The second I started listening to this album I thought to myself “oh God, this is the kind of shit some douche bag from pitchfork with a foldable bicycle who hates kombucha ever since it’s sold out think is awesome“. And, of course it is!. It’s also the kind of shit that this list has absolutely tons of when so many other genres are under represented or not represented at all. Having said that I can’t hate this album, this was great. I’m not giving it five stars but a solid four star album and Something I’m definitely gonna listen to again

A bit too much eighties filler. First time listening, so difficult identifying the hits/

¿Recuerdan cuando les dije, respecto de un disco de Sonic Youth, que me gusta escuchar maás melodía en mi ruido? Pues a esto me refiero. Sé que las comparaciones pueden ser odiosas, pero creo que en este caso la comparación es apta: este disco me gusta más que la pesadez de Loveless (o cualquier disco de mbv), precisamente porque acá hay más melodías.

3-4

2+