Ride

English rock band formed in Oxford in 1988. With their first records, Ride created a unique wall of sound that relied on massive, trembling distortion in the vein of My Bloody Valentine but with a simpler, more direct melodic songwriting approach. The shatteringly loud, droning neo-psychedelia the band performed was dubbed "shoegazing" by the British press because the band members stared at their many guitar effects pedals while they performed. After the 1992 album "Going Blank Again", the band shed their shoegazing tendencies and released 1994's "Carnival Of Light", an album deeply indebted to bands of the 1960s and 70s. Following a lukewarm critical and fan reception towards that album, they released one more album in a similar retro/classic rock vein, "Tarantula", in 1996, immediately breaking up over inter-band tensions regarding direction and ongoing songwriting/leadership squabbles. Twenty years later, they reformed amicably and have since released three more well-regarded full length albums that have largely been considered a return to form.