Review Summary: can you tell I'm pleased?
For better or for worse, 2017 is the year of shoegaze revival. The timing is peculiar, almost as if Slowdive, Jesus & the Mary Chain, and Ride all met together in Andy Bell’s quaint, yet refined London residence, reminisced about the old days, and decided "fuck it, why not do it again?”. Jim and William recreated their druggy past with frightening accuracy while Neil Halstead and crew decided to reside and flourish within the details while still retaining the essence of their crowning achievement. As for Ride? Well, let’s just say they seem to like their comfortable lives a bit
too much and it shows on
Weather Diaries.
Now to indulge in a bit of personal speculation, let’s think back to Bell’s charming home in the UK. With the album in mind, imagine for just a moment the life he now leads, happily married and heralded as a songwriter that pioneered an entire genre. “
I had a dream we were surfing//Robert Anton Wilson and I//Off some California beach ” makes it seem like Bell is more than content with his philosophical life as, hell, even his dreams are cool! “
Another Summer is on the way, Cali//Another lover, the only one ” is a testament to an ideal life anyone would want, summer vacations in Cali with the woman you love. Yet, as ‘Cali’s’ bouncy alt rock vibe repeatedly hits you over the head with its “life is good” mantra, the album’s flaws become as clear as the ocean waters. Ride are too satisfied with their lives, and while I’m more than happy for the band, it doesn’t come across as appropriate. For some reason, listening to a band radiate over-saturated britpop hooks and light, playful guitar work within a genre known for thriving in the melancholia doesn’t feel
right.
That isn’t to say the shoegaze spirit isn’t completely void on this album. Fans will grasp onto the dreamy, atmospheric tracks like ‘Lannoy Point’ and ‘Home is a Feeling’, while others will point to the rock-oriented ‘Charm Assault’ and ‘Rocket Silver Symphony’ as the cumulative songs of the record. After all, Ride
is known for being the shoegaze band that wasn’t truly in sync with all of the genre’s essential elements, instead opting for a more brit-rock, alternative style. Yet, on
Nowhere they still attempted to stay true to the lifeblood of the genre while here their high spirits outweigh any attempt at appearing downtrodden and immersed within a hazy atmosphere. And while all the aforementioned tracks are well done, albeit uninspired, it is the closer, ‘White Sands’, that tries too hard to be both larger than life and solidly within the shoegaze genre. Perhaps Ride should’ve learned from their detail-oriented counterparts in Slowdive, as ‘Falling Ashes’ proves to be a far more compelling closer for an album like this. Although Ride redeems themselves with some more-than-salvageable tracks, the album as a whole feels a bit too pleased with itself for just existing, and not really anything else. Yet, if they are having fun why shouldn’t we as well, right?
