Ride is set to release their seventh studio album, Interplay, on March 29th through Wichita Recordings / PIAS. This marks their third album since their 2014 reunion, surpassing the duration of their original stint as 90s shoegaze trailblazers. The album is introduced with its lead single, “Peace Sign,” available now. See “Peace Sign” below:
“Interplay” succeeds their previous albums, 2017’s “Weather Diaries” and 2019’s “This Is Not A Safe Place.” These albums reignited Ride’s spark, satisfying longtime fans and attracting a new audience to one of the era’s most innovative guitar bands. The album is a collaborative production effort by the band and Richie Kennedy, with mixing by Claudius Mittendorfer. It represents a synthesis of their career, blending early characteristics like intense guitar play, mesmerizing rhythms, and captivating melodies with an expanded sound influenced by 80s icons like Tears For Fears, Talk Talk, and early U2.
The album’s themes revolve around traditional Ride motifs – escapism, dreams, and modern life’s discontents – coupled with resilience and the journey of disbanding and reuniting to reach a new zenith. Guitarist and vocalist Andy Bell reflects on the album’s journey: “This album was a long process, filled with highs and lows, perhaps more than any other Ride album. However, it brought us out on the other side as a band in a strong place, ready to let go of the past and celebrate the musical abilities that originally united us.”