That Ride have been sitting on a finished new album for some time isn’t a secret; it’s been in the can since at least early Fall. But perhaps they wanted to wait until the attention around Slowdive’s new record had crested – at least initially – before raising their hand. In any case, they’re welcoming the new year with the announcement of their third reunion record – Interplay is out March 29 – and a first sample in the form of “Peace Sign”.

The official press release reads:

‘Peace Sign’ started life as a jam recorded at Marks’ OX4 studio, in early 2021. We called it ‘Berlin’ and initially it featured Loz on drums, Steve on bass, and myself on a prophet 5 synth. About six months later I got hold of the recording and wrestled it into song form. Lyrically I was inspired by a film called The Alpinist about the visionary free climber Marc-André Leclerc. Soon after I’d finished working on the song I remember I was raving to my bandmates about Leclerc at OX4, and a good memory of that time was us all watching that film at Mark’s studio.

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.

Andy Bell, Ride
Ride – “Peace Sign” @ Stereogum

In conversation with NME, Mark and Andy offered a more expanded explanation of the first single from the record, the hardships of making the record, and the ’80s New Wave influences that we can expect to hear on it:

The band are currently on the road in the US with The Charlatans for the second leg of their Between Nowhere tour, which makes one wonder when they’ll return with eyes on the future (or at least present) rather than the past. Perhaps this Summer will bring the new record to European festivals and they’ll be back to North America early next year?