Not just a britpop band: Ride remind Sydney the 90’s are still king

While he may be best known for his role in Oasis, Andy Bell has endeavoured to show the world there’s more to britpop than meets the eye.

They say that after you strip away all the bulls**t, every band on planet Earth is just trying to be the Beatles.

The countless bands to follow the Liverpudlian tidal wave that crashed over the world in the 1960’s have, in some way or another, followed the blueprint laid out by the Fab Four.

90’s alternative rock band Ride, who graced the Enmore Theatre this week, proudly lean into this trope. Their British sound is proudly worn on their sleeve. For those unacquainted, watching a band walk out sporting Rickenbacker guitars, baggy shirts and a bowl cut might give the vibe of a cover band about to hit you with “Hey Jude”.

But there’s a bit more going on here than your average britpop band.

Ride are credited as one of the original pillars of the shoegaze genre, which pushed rock music forward in the late 1980’s through the 90’s.

The genre’s appeal is less in the complexity of the music’s arrangement, and more in the intricacies of the gargantuan soundscapes that come from an addiction to reverberation and delay effects.

In the 90s, it was leading the way by pushing the boundaries of what a guitar band is capable of.

Ride’s first album Nowhere released in 1990 is a great example. Packed full of both high-charged psychedelic jams and sweet ballads, Nowhere has carried them all the way to 2024.

While relatively underground compared to similar britpop bands like Oasis, Blur and The Stone Roses, the strength in Ride’s discography has allowed them to tour the world. Every city, it seems, has its own little pocket of shoegaze nuts looking to blow their ears out.

If it wasn’t clear already, Ride’s secret weapon is volume. They have a brilliant catalogue of accessible pop-rock songs that show off the writing chops of singer-guitarists Andy Bell and Mark Gardener.

Ride know how to do shoegaze. Picture: Nigel Malcolm

But what makes it cool is that every song shines brighter when put through heavy amplification.

Some bands fall prey to being overly ambitious in the studio, which leaves them with a massive headache when crafting a live show. At the same time, some all-time classic songs are ruined once you strip them back to an acoustic guitar.

But Ride knows where their roots lie.

The pounding drums and bass work create an energetic psychedelic canvas for Bell and Gardener’s guitars to paint over. It’s loud, almost deafening. But that’s the point.

Mark Gardener on the tools. Picture: Nigel Malcolm

Songs like Seagull, Leave Them All Behind and Vapour Trail were highlights, giving the thoroughly Gen X crowd a throwback to an era past.

There’s something unmistakably punk about the whole affair. Notes are lost to the abyss as the set reaches its decibel peak. There is thrashing and visceral screeches as Bell’s amp battles to come out on top of the band’s unrelenting roar.

But then it all comes back. Just like an F1 driver hitting the brakes after a straight, Ride can pull off some seriously tasty juxtaposition between surging reverberated sections and stripped back passages.

Songs like Seagull, Leave Them All Behind and Vapour Trail were highlights, giving the thoroughly Gen X crowd a throwback to an era past. Picture: Nigel Malcolm

Their support act, 90s art-rockers Mercury Rev, were also outstanding. The US outfit has also built a following of loyal fans throughout their career. One of them being the late great David Bowie, no less.

I had never seen them live, only really knowing their song Goddess on a Hiway and being intrigued by their distinct left-of-centre approach to traditional songwriting.

Mercury Rev could be the best support act touring Australia right now. Picture: Nigel Malcolm.

Seeing them in the flesh was a great reminder of the sheer depth of the alternative music scene, and just how good some bands who never “made it to the top” truly are.

Their performance of superbly crafted ballads, highlighted by a few electric crescendos was more than what most support acts are expected to pull off, and their gigantic, cinematic outro full of swirling synthesisers is among the best set-finishers going around.

In short, you’re definitely getting your money’s worth on this tour.

Ride’s tour of Australia with Mercury Rev continues on August 14 at The Tivoli in Brisbane before heading to Fremantle’s Metropolis (16th).

Originally published as Not just a britpop band: Ride remind Sydney the 90’s are still king