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Rating: The year was 1990 and in England, they were in the midst of the baggy fever, that short-lived but highly intense movement which had leading bands such as Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, Charlatans, and Inspiral Carpets; these groups later played an undeniable role in the evolution of the “Cool Britannia” of Albion pop in the mid-decade.
At the same time, however, a path was being forged, aided by the promotion that bands like Kevin Shields' My Bloody Valentine were beginning to receive. This new wave comprised bands that had learned from the noise lessons of the Jesus & Mary Chains and the late '60s psychedelia, reinterpreting these elements in a brand new way suited to the times of the acid house revolution and the new American guitar rock.
This “movement” was launched in the UK under the convenient name of “shoegaze” which, according to the predictions of the music critics of the time, was set to supplant the now exhausted baggy scene: the Ride, an Oxford group signed up with record speed by Creation’s Alan “big eyes” McGee, had already put these predictions into play with their debut album, which as often happens in rock history, secured itself a vital place in the evolution of English music over the past 15 years despite poor sales.
After the classic grind of singles and Ep (including “Chelsea Girl” and “Dreams Burn Down”), with “Nowhere” the Ride made it clear that they had gone beyond the simple compromise between the youthful restlessness of baggy and the autistic creativity of shoegaze, to propose a psychedelic rock where all these elements were used wisely to create a sort of undefined atmosphere, where the only recognizable thing was the alchemy of past echoes, disenchantment, anger, and beauty, managing to be deeply transgressive without ever giving the impression of losing control, in an unresolved emotional balance, like a castaway on the verge of drowning but managing to stay alive for now.
From this perspective, the initial austere and chaotic “Seagull” (which culminates in a hysterical ending), the rhythmic “Kaleidoscope” and the slow and melancholic “In A Different Place” represent the three keys of interpretation (which fit together in a thousand ways) of a sound always at the mercy of a crushing sense of apathy and fatalism which ends up giving an absolutely unique identity to each song: if for My Bloody Valentine or Swervedriver they talked about “cathedrals in flames”, to describe “Nowhere” one might refer to something fluid and flowing, a sensation already suggested by the beautiful cover, which uses dream pop to reach an undefined perception where the melodies, imposing yet not imposed, are nothing more than dust falling from the sky onto an ice-coated street where you slip, slip, slip.
Anyway, discussing this record track by track would only diminish it: “Nowhere” should be lived as an authentic experience beyond one's tastes and the inevitable comparisons that may come to mind (the dreamier Smiths, Syd Barrett, Dinosaur Jr, Cocteau Twins), because the only message from the music contained here is to let yourself go on a journey not inside yourself, but outside yourself, in search of a restless and liquid serenity.
Just naming the exceptional emotional peaks of tracks like “Dreams Burn Down” and especially the wonderful “Vapour Trail” (one of the most beautiful indie ballads ever made) is enough to highlight the status of “classic” of this work, suggestive and poetic in its apparent neglect, forgotten and unforgettable.
Unfortunately, the artistic fortune of Ride (who at the time of “Nowhere” were heavy drug users) ended with that debut: less inspired albums followed and the inevitable breakup, with leader Andy Bell, after attempting his luck by forming the insipid Hurricane #1, now turned bassist for Oasis and has among other things composed some of the best songs of the band from Manchester’s recent repertoire. Despite a still enviable present, the fact remains that for him and his Ride there was a bright future behind them.
Tracklist Lyrics and Samples
01 Seagull (06:08)
My eyes are sore, my body weak
My throat is dry, I cannot speak
My words are dead
Falling like feathers to the floor
Falling like feathers to the floor
You gave me things I'd never seen
You made my life a waking dream
But we are dead
Falling like ashes to the floor
Falling like ashes to the floor
Definitions confine thoughts, they are a myth
Words are clumsy, language doesn't fit
But we know there's no limit to thought
We know there's no limits
Now it's your turn to see me rise
You burned your wings, now watch me fly
Above your head
Looking down I see you far below
Looking up you see my spirit glow
02 Kaleidoscope (03:01)
I know that you are thinking about me now
I can feel it but I don't know how
When I'm gone you will see so clear
That I left some words unspoken here
All these words that I have said
Float around you, fill your head
All the times we laughted and cried
I never thought I'd leave you behind
I don't want you to understand
You will never hold me in your hand
I don't want you to see my face
When I fade away and leave this place
All these songs that fill my head
Dance around you when I'm dead
All the love I ever knew
Kaleidoscopes around to you
All these words that I have said
Float around you, fill your head
All the times we laughed and cried
I never thought I'd change your mind
03 In a Different Place (05:29)
Blowing bubbles, lying down
Waiting for the rain to fall
Laughing at the people
Wonder why they always rush, never slow down
And we're smiling, when we're sleeping
And we're smiling, when we're waking
Even if the rain falls down, and all the sky turns cold
I will feel fine
Thunder roared and lightning flashed
But you and I are in a different time
And we're smiling, when we're sleeping
And we're smiling, when we're waking
Floating in and out of time
In and out of space
No one else can touch us now
We're in a different place
04 Polar Bear (04:46)
She knew she was able to fly
Because when she came down
She had dust on her hands from the sky
She said I touched a cloud
She felt so high, the dust made her cry
She knew she could fly like a bird
But when she said 'please raise the roof higher' nobody heard
They never noticed a word
The light bulbs burn, her fingertips will learn
Why should it feel like a crime?
If I want to be with you all the time
Why is it measured in hours?
You should make your own time, you're welcome in mine
She knew she was able to fly
Because when she came down
She had dust from her hands on the sky
She said I touched a cloud
Her fingers will learn, the lightbulbs burn
05 Dreams Burn Down (06:06)
Lying under sky,
Laughing at everything I say,
And pulls me under,
There's no time to resist.
Lying on the floor,
The tears are falling down and more,
Her eyes speak loud,
But actions speak the best.
Waiting, hoping for a sign,
That what's forbidden can be mine,
I just want what I can't have,
'Til my dreams burn down and choke me every time.
She's effortlessly cool,
But circumstances can be cruel,
And sometimes you must accept,
That you can't always get what you want.
We fill up our days and nights,
We fill up our empty little lives,
But we know we are doomed,
The moment we walk out the room
06 Decay (03:36)
We have short time to stay
Our night is slipping far away
Caught up within bad memories
Our growth seems certain to decay
Now this feeling's so alive
But, as you or anything, we die
We die
Let's stay here for a while
Eyes so round and bright we gently smile
Live for the moment, not the past
Why do we always fall so fast?
07 Paralysed (05:34)
Catch me, in another dream, I'm pulled away
Hold me, gently take me through another day
However hard I try
I crawl when I should fly
I wander through my days
Pulled a million ways
Help me feel the forces I can't touch, I'm reaching out
Help me learn, until I know too much, I'm still without
These circles pulling near
Hold me in my fear
And sleeping I can't hide
I'm paralysed inside
Paralysed
Paralysed
Paralysed
Paralysed
Paralysed
Paralysed
Paralysed
Paralysed
08 Vapour Trail (04:18)
First you look so strong,
Then you fade away.
The sun will blind my eyes;
I love you anyway.
Thirsty for your smile;
I watch you for a while.
You are a vapour trail
In a deep blue sky.
Tremble with a sigh;
Glitter in your eye.
You seem to come and go;
I never seem to know.
And all my time
is yours as much as mine.
We never have enough
Time to show our love.
09 Taste (03:17)
Floating like a smoke ring
It cannot be regained
Now it's touched, it's broken
The taste just slips away
The taste just slips away
I just want to know
The taste just slips away
The taste just slips away
I just want to know
I don't want to tell you
What you want to know
I don't want to tell you
As hard as right can be
It can feel so wrong
Too much to leave
Now it's all gone wrong
It's all gone wrong
But what's right or wrong?
I don't know
I don't know
The taste just slips away
11 Nowhere (05:22)
I should have known better
Than to expect it all
You want everything
And you end up grabbing at air
I had so much to give
So much hope, we held each other high
But the heroes are gone
And all that's left is you and me
I learned the hard way
That life should be easy
But I wan't you to know that it was hard to show
The things that I know now
All that's left is you and me
And here we are, nowhere
All that's left is you and me
And here we are, nowhere
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