As promised, shoegaze pioneers Ride will release a new album this year. Today, they’ve revealed that it is due out this summer via Wichita Recordings. The record is mixed by Alan Moulder (who mixed Nowhere and produced Going Blank Again), and produced by DJ Erol Alkan. They have also shared the first offering from the LP—marking their first new song in over 20 years. Below, listen to “Charm Assault.” Scroll down for statements from frontman Andy Bell and Alkan, as well as Ride’s tour dates.
“Charm Assault” is a pretty straightforward expression of frustration and disgust at the people who currently run our country. The tour in 2015 was a good way of reminding us what we were good at in the first place and “Charm Assault” feels like a natural continuation from our peak. When we started writing together again we tried to imagine we’d kept on making music all this time, and this was just the latest one.
Erol Alkan:
Nowhere and Going Blank Again were big records for me and my friends when we were growing up. I’ve vaguely known Andy for a few years through his brother-in-law but we didn’t actually meet until a couple of years back. I had an email from them asking if I’d like to collaborate with the band, and once I’d heard the demos, I was 100% in. And’s very well versed in electronic music, so we had a common bond in that as well as alternative music. The new music contains all the great elements you want from Ride—Great songs, loud guitars, beautiful harmonies, powerful rhythms.
Ride:
03-12 Belfast, Northern Ireland - Limelight 03-22 Dublin, Ireland - Olympia Theatre 03-24 Glasgow, Scotland - Glasgow Barrowland (6 Music Festival) 07-13-16 Benicàssim, Spain - Festival Internacional de Benicàssim
Watch “The Top 10 Shoegaze Albums of All Time” on Pitchfork.tv:
