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Feb 15, 2024 By Mark Redfern Photography by Cal McIntyre

Legendary British shoegazers Ride are releasing a new album, Interplay, on March 29 via Wichita and PIAS. Now they have shared its second single, “Last Frontier,” and announced some new tour dates, including some North American ones this May. Check out the song and tour dates below.

Ride formed in 1988 and its lineup remains guitarist/vocalists Andy Bell and Mark Gardener, drummer Laurence “Loz” Colbert, and bassist Steve Queralt.

Bell had this to say about “Last Frontier” in a press release: “This was the runt of the litter of the very first jam session from Mark’s OX4 Studio, and I didn’t even include it on my shortlist of the best tracks. It was our producer, Richie Kennedy, who saw the potential of the song, and we attacked this with a vengeance at Vada studio. A complete revamp of the backing track and arrangement was needed and we took it right back to basics, more towards a pounding Joy Division feel.

“For the topline, I tried improvising at the mic, singing it all different ways, and coming up with new parts on the spot. I felt really exposed but kind of said to myself, ‘you’re among friends, it’s good to push yourself to try new ways to write.’ It feels different to every vocal I’ve ever done. It’s still a new way of working for me but it’s something I want to continue trying as I think it makes for better vocal lines; a good mixture of written and improvised.”

Previously Ride shared the album’s first single, “Peace Sign.” It was one of our Songs of the Week.

Interplay is the band’s third album since reforming in 2014, following 2017’s Weather Diaries and 2019’s This Is Not a Safe Place. Ride produced the album with Richie Kennedy and Claudius Mittendorfer mixed the album.

Bell had this to say about Interplay in a previous press release: “This album has taken a long time to make, and has seen the band go through a lot of ups and downs; maybe the most of any Ride album. But it has seen us come through the process as a band in a good place, feeling able to shake off the past, and ready to celebrate the combined musical talents that brought us together in the first place.”

Ride are currently on a co-headlining U.S. tour with The Charlatans. It’s something they did last year as well. The Charlatans are performing their 1992-released sophomore album, Between 10th and 11th, and Ride are performing their 1990-released debut album, Nowhere.

Read our interview with Ride’s Mark Gardener on This Is Not a Safe Place.

Also read our 2013 interview with Ride on Nowhere and our 2015 interview with Gardener where he went through Nowhere track-by-track.

Ride Tour Dates:

5/11 - Boston, MA @ Big Night Live
5/13 - Montreal, QB @ Theatre Fairmount
5/14 - Toronto, ON @ Concert Hall
5/15 - Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre
5/16 - Chicago, IL @ Metro
5/17 - Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line
5/19 - Denver, Colorado @ Gothic Theater
5/22 - Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
5/23 - Portland, OR @ Mission Theater
5/25 - Seattle, WA @ Showbox
9/2 - Belfast, UK @ Limelight
9/3 - Dublin, Ireland @ Olympia
9/4 - Cork, Ireland @ Cyprus Avenue
9/6 - Sheffield, UK @ Leadmill
9/7 - Newcastle, UK @ Boilershop
9/8 - Glasgow, UK @ SWG 3 TV Studio
9/10 - Liverpool, UK @ Invisible Wind Factory
9/12 - Leeds, UK @ Stylus
9/13 - Manchester, UK @ New Century
9/14 - Bristol, UK @ SWX
9/16 - Falmouth, UK @ Princess Pavilions
9/17 - Portsmouth, UK @ Guildhall
9/18 - Brighton, UK @ Chalk
9/20 - London, UK @ Roundhouse
9/21 - Wolverhampton, UK @ Wulfrun Halls
9/22 - Cambridge, UK @ Junction

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