Ride

Nowhere (1990)

Ride's debut stands apart from most shoegaze by virtue of its rhythmic aggression — the drums mixed higher and hitting harder than on any MBV or Slowdive record, giving songs like 'Vapour Trail' and 'Polar Bear' a physical impact that the genre's hazy textures often softened away. 'Vapour Trail' became the definitive statement, its overlapping vocal harmonies and chiming guitar layers producing a sweetness that was entirely Ride's own. Nowhere holds up as the most exhilarating entry point into the scene.

Sleeve notes

Nowhere · 1990

Ride were the Oxford band who had the best summer of the shoegaze movement — Nowhere (1990), their debut LP, sold well and got good reviews at a moment when that combination was still possible for a guitar band of their stripe. Mark Gardener and Andy Bell's twin-guitar interplay was more structural than Kevin Shields's — less about pure texture, more about the relationship between two guitar parts that were never quite in the same key or mood — and their songs had a momentum and anthemic quality that distinguished them from the more introverted end of the genre.

Going Blank Again (1992) pushed further into Madchester territory, which cost them the critics who preferred them purer. Carnival of Light (1994) and Tarantula (1996) found them trying to expand into something bigger and losing the thread. The breakup in 1996 was messy. The reunion in 2015 was orderly: they made two strong albums — Weather Diaries and This Is Not a Safe Place — and confirmed that the initial run had been genuinely accomplished rather than merely of its moment.