Ride - Peace Sign
Rock band Ride formed in Oxford in 1988 and instead of losing speed have been gaining speed, the band have just released a new single and announced the release of their new album ‘Interplay’ which will be out on the 29th of March!
Single ‘Peace Sign’ is the first to be released of the upcoming album and it is the fast paced thumping electro rock track we’ve been waiting for. ‘Peace Sign’ engages from the very first drum fill, and drives forward through soft vocal harmonies and an eclectic soundscape driven by delicious electric guitar licks. The song is an instantly anthemic rock track perfectly utilising the building blocks of a successful pop rock track. “Give me a peace sign” is the recurring line of the track, saying what we’ve been saying but amplified and in the form of a mantra we can now all use at our peaceful protests trying to bring peace and harmony back into the world.
‘Peace Sign’ teases the new record the four piece is releasing in March, this album being the third from the band’s hand since their reformation in 2014. They’ve now been together longer in their second phase than in their first, but none if it truly seems to make a different sound- and quality-wise. Ride is still the uncanny band they’ve always been, starting out as 90’s shoegaze pioneers, and having turned into a timeless and ever-exciting rock group with a modern melancholic alternative sound.
The perfect introduction to the band’s upcoming album is a combination of driving bassline and euphoric 80’s-inspired synths and saxophone. On their new single, Andy said: “‘Peace Sign’ started life as a jam recorded at Marks’ OX4 studio in early 2021. We called it ‘Berlin’ and initially it featured Loz on drums, Steve on bass and myself on a prophet 5 synth. About six months later I got hold of the recording and wrestled it into song form. Lyrically I was inspired by a film called ‘The Alpinist’ about the visionary free climber Marc-André Leclerc. Soon after I’d finished working on the song I remember I was raving to my bandmates about Leclerc at OX4, and a good memory of that time was us all watching that film at Mark’s studio.”
The enthusiasm for their own craft, and energy behind this sole track promises a lot for the future of Ride and the release of their brand new album, March truly can’t come soon enough!
Words by Laura Rosierse
