Labelled ‘shoegaze’ by the British music press for their overt use of guitar pedals during live performance, Oxford-based four-piece Ride garnered significant success for their psychedelic, guitar-drenched approach to alt-rock. Although initially compared to the equally pioneering My Bloody Valentine, Ride would take a more melodic, song-driven approach as emphasised on a trio of early EPs that set the stage for their 1990 debut album, Nowhere.
As the band progressed with chart-friendly albums Going Blank Again and Carnival of Light, Ride began to move above and beyond the shoegaze pack to become one of Britain’s last great rock bands until creative differences caused relationships to fracture. By the time they had released their fourth album Tarantula in 1996, co-guitarist Andy Bell had largely taken over vocal duties from Mark Gardener, before himself departing prior to the LP’s release.
