Ride - This is Not A Safe Place
“This is Not a Safe Place” marks the sixth studio album for Ride, to be released on August 16th. The band are veteran staples of the 90’s shoegaze genre, a label they have tried to avoid in the past. Despite containing all the hallmarks of their past albums, some of the new songs veer down a grungier path, and evidence of Andy Bell’s ten year stint as bassist for Oasis is littered through the album, creating a new, more complex sound, illustrating the growth of the band since their beginning.
The first song on the album, eponymously named “R.I.D.E”, packs a punch. Its the perfect opener, with a pounding almost electronic drumbeat. When followed up by the breezy, jangly “Future Love”, the diversity of this album is fully revealed, proving the musical range of the band. As well as building on the elements which the band are best known for, there is an experimental approach to some new songs. “In This Room”, the song which lends a lyric to title the album, is an eight minute musical dream sequence. In true Ride fashion it transports you somewhere else entirely, and makes for a brilliant closing track.
“Repetition” is a stand out track, and it’s no wonder that this is the song chosen as the first single from the album. Regarded as Andy Bell as “one of the best songs [he’s] ever written”, the song ties the album together, creating a beating, pumping heart to the latest creative venture from Ride.
There are a couple of near misses, with “Dial Up” being just a little bit too off kilter to be enjoyable, and “Shadows Behind the Sun” focussing on a self indulgent, moody melody, excluding the listener in favour of a darker tone. However all in all the album is a triumph, and a good follow up to The Weather Diaries, which came before it, which kickstarted Ride’s reunion in 2017. This is Not a Safe Place solidly epitomises Ride’s evolution since their first album to now, and is filled with spacey tracks contrasting the grungier, heavier songs, all of which compile into a banging album. A must for established fans of Ride, but also a good bet for indie fans searching for something new.
8/10
