Nowhere
(Rhino Handmade)
1/2 (out of 5)
In case you haven't noticed by now, we've got a total boner for pretty much anything that rolls down Light in the Attic's pipeline. For this beauty of a reissue, the Seattle label teamed up with Rhino Handmade, who "raid the vaults on an endless quest for material that is out of print or never before released." You may remember Oxfordshire's Ride as the lesser-known, less-amplified cousin of My Bloody Valentine. Anyone who's ever spent time in record stores will recognize Nowhere's iconic cover—just a stark photo of a single pre-crest wave swell. Nowhere was Ride's first full-length and their high point. Originally released on Sire in 1990, it's generally considered to be the second best album of the original shoegaze era—the first being My Bloody Valentine's Loveless—and it's a poppier, more forthright affair than that record. With a five-by-five book-style package, and a 40-page essay by venerable music writer Jim DeRogatis, the remastered Nowhere will induce salivation from veteran fans and is a definitive starting point for newbs. It tacks on four songs from the Today Forever EP, originally released on Creation Records in 1991, but the real treat is the second disc. Recorded at LA's Roxy on Ride's first American tour, it finds the band totally nailing their greatest material live, the best way to experience rock (as long as the musicians are competent). This is an absolute gem, whether you already know the album or not.
