Stream: Ride, ‘Charm Assault’

Kevin Bronson on February 21st, 2017

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Shoegaze luminaries Ride, whose fractious breakup kept them on the sidelines for almost two decades until a reunion in late 2014, have released their first new music in 20 years. “Charm Assult” is from a full-length that the quartet — Andy Bell, Mark Gardener, Laurence “Loz” Colbert and Steve Queralt — will release this summer via Wichita Recordings. the album was produced by Erol Alkan and mixed by longtime band ally Alan Moulder and, says Bell, sees the band making believe that the breakup never happened. “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,” says Bell, who went on to play in Oasis and Beady Eye during Ride’s hiatus. “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.” Sonically, “Charm Assault” is more in line with the latter part of Ride’s four-album arc between 1990 and ’96 — longtime fans will recognize those glorious guitar tones and swirls. As for the message, Bells says the song “is a pretty straightforward expression of frustration and disgust at the people who currently run our country.” File under: Happy returns, and strong ones at that.

Updated Feb. 22: A second song has also been released, “Home Is a Feeling.”

||| Stream: “Charm Assault” and “Home Is a Feeling”