Ride was an essential element of the wall-of-sound, trippy, melodic shoe-gazing movement of the early '90s. Nowhere is their best album and is one of the prettiest albums of that era. Songs are psychedelic wash of reverberation, and ghostly, passive vocal melodies. Born from the womb of My Bloody Valentine distortion, Ride tempers their sound with an easier melody, reaching across to the pop spectrum. "Vapour Trail" stands out as the leader of the pack--a gorgeous song that floats and drones in and out of your head like a cleansing fog. --Beth Bessmer