I'm a skeptic when it comes to classic bands with classic sounds attempting to make a comeback in modern times. It almost always results in a trite, nostalgia-laden schmatlz-fest, mostly centred on the band's past work with only a cursory look forward. It's rare to find a band that looks forward and attempts to find a new way to make music. Ride are part of a shoegaze mini-revival, along with Slowdive (reunited in 2014, along with awesome post-punk/shoegaze side project Minor Victories, my #1 in 2016.) Ride returned in 2017 with a great full-length, Weather Diaries, and their 2019 follow up, This is Not a Safe Place, pushed them even further into a modern sound. The classic shoegazing is there ("Shadows Behind the Sun", "Killswitch"), but more modern indy rock and psychedelic sounds are here too. "Repetition" almost sounds like an outtake by The National. Ride are a band with a great pedigree, but are clearly looking to the future as well as looking backwards.
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