''Nowhere'' is the debut album by British

shoegaze Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with "dream pop") is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volu ...

band

Ride Ride may refer to: People * MC Ride, a member of Death Grips * Sally Ride (1951–2012), American astronaut * William Ride (19262011), Australian zoologist Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Ride'' (1998 film), a 1998 comedy by Millicen ...

, released 15 October 1990. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' called the album "a masterpiece", and online magazine ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'' called it "one of shoegazing's enduring moments".

Background and production

Ride released three EPs, ''

'', ''

Play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

'', and ''

Fall Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Southe ...

'', prior to the release of ''Nowhere''. ''Nowhere'' was recorded live-in-the-studio with producer Marc Waterman. Waterman had a

mental breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

, which resulted in

Alan Moulder Alan Moulder (born 11 June 1959) is an English record producer, mixing engineer, and audio engineer. Early life Moulder was born on 11 June 1959 in Boston, Lincolnshire. He was educated at Boston Grammar School. He had an interest in music from ...

mixing the recordings. The band members were 18 or 19 during the recording of ''Nowhere''. Mark Gardener described it as a "nighttime sort of record", and recalled the band working on the album in the studio during late-night hours, leading to feelings of isolation as a result of the irregular work schedule.

Artwork

The

album cover An album cover (also referred to as album art) is the front packaging art of a commercially released studio album or other audio recordings. The term can refer to either the printed paperboard covers typically used to package sets of and 78-r ...

features an uncrested wave photographed by skateboard/snowboard photographer Warren Bolster. The original LP

cover art Cover art is a type of artwork presented as an illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product such as a book (often on a dust jacket), magazine, newspaper ( tabloid), comic book, video game (box art), music album (album art), ...

work had the band name in embossed text centered in the upper half and an embossed album title in the lower right corner. The original cassette and CD releases featured no band name or album title on the cover, but sometimes came with an identifying sticker on the outside of the CD or cassette case. For the 2001 CD re-release, the band name and title were printed visibly on the cover in the locations of the LP's embossed text. The 2011 Rhino Handmade edition features a lenticular design of the wave.

Release

''Nowhere'' was released by

Creation Records Creation Records Ltd. was a British independent record label founded in 1983 by Alan McGee, Dick Green, and Joe Foster. Its name came from the 1960s band The Creation, whom McGee greatly admired. The label ceased operations in 1999, although ...

on 15 October 1990. The album was issued in the United States in December 1990 by

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer ...

, featuring three bonus tracks culled from the band's ''Fall'' EP. A 2001 reissue by Ignition Records further added the four songs from the band's '' Today Forever'' EP as bonus tracks. In February 2011,

Rhino Handmade Rhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label and production company founded in 1978. It is currently the catalog division for Warner Music Group. Its current CEO is Mark Pinkus. History Founded in 1978, Rhino was originall ...

released a special 20th anniversary edition of ''Nowhere'', featuring the remastered original album with seven bonus tracks, plus a bonus disc featuring a previously unreleased live performance at

The Roxy Roxy, Roxey, and Roxie may refer to: People * Roxy (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name Places in the United States * Roxie, Mississippi, a town * Roxie, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Music * Roxy ...

in Los Angeles recorded on 10 April 1991. The set also includes a 40-page booklet with exclusive photos and a new essay by music critic

Jim DeRogatis James Peter DeRogatis (born September 2, 1964) is an American music critic and co-host of ''Sound Opinions''. DeRogatis has written articles for magazines such as ''Rolling Stone'', '' Spin'', ''Guitar World'' and ''Modern Drummer'', and for 15 ...

, as well as a lenticular-covered

digipak Optical disc packaging is the packaging that accompanies CDs, DVDs, and other formats of optical discs. Most packaging is rigid or semi-rigid and designed to protect the media from scratches and other types of exposure damage. Jewel case A ...

book. In November 2015, the band released a special 25th anniversary edition of ''Nowhere'' across two separate formats: a CD/DVD set, and a coloured-vinyl double LP. The CD features the same audio material as the 2001 and 2011 reissues remastered, with a DVD featuring a previously unreleased live performance at Town and Country Club in London on 7 March 1991. The discs come in a hardback cardboard case with canvas-style cover and a 36-page booklet. The 2LP version features an expanded track listing with 7 bonus tracks from the ''Fall'' and ''Today Forever'' EPs, and was pressed on white and blue marbled colour vinyl. The reissue was released independently. In conjunction with the re-release, the band performed the album in its entirety at a series of live shows in October 2015.

Legacy

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

has cited ''Nowhere'' as one of the greatest albums of the shoegaze genre. ''Nowhere'' was ranked at number 74 on ''

''s 2003 list of the top 100 albums of the 1990s, and at number 277 on ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

''s 2015 list of "The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years". It is also included in the book ''

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' is a musical reference book first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Part of the ''1001 Before You Die'' series, it compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music critics ...

''. The track " Vapour Trail" was named the 145th best song of the 1990s by ''Pitchfork'' in 2010, and the 81st best song of the 1990s by ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' in 2012.

Track listing

All songs were equally credited to Ride ( Andy Bell, Laurence "Loz" Colbert,

Mark Gardener Mark Stephen Gardener (born 6 December 1969, in Oxford, England) is an English rock musician, and a singer and guitarist with the shoegazing band Ride. Ride Gardener formed Ride with Andy Bell (guitar), whom he met at Cheney School in Oxfo ...

, Steve Queralt).

Personnel

;Ride *

– vocals, guitar * Andy Bell – vocals, guitar, piano, harmonica * Steve Queralt – bass *

Laurence Colbert Laurence John Colbert (nicknamed Loz; born 27 June 1970) is an English musician, best known as the drummer in Ride and formerly of The Animalhouse, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Supergrass and Gaz Coombes. His drumming style has been characterized ...

– drums ;Technical * Marc Waterman – recording *

– mixing at Swanyard Studios, London *Nick Webb – remastering (

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music c ...

) *

Joe Dilworth Stereolab are an Anglo- French avant-pop band formed in London in 1990. Led by the songwriting team of Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier, the group's music combines influences from krautrock, lounge and 1960s pop music, often incorporating a repeti ...

– band photography * Warren Bolster – wave photography

References

Sources * *

External links

''Nowhere''
at

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

(streamed copy where licensed)
Lyrics
{{Authority control Ride (band) albums Creation Records albums 1990 debut albums