Nowhere seems to hold consensus as the second-best record of the shoegaze era, and with very good reason. All of the common words, phrases, and adjectives commonly used with the short-lived subgenre fit properly here, and they're all positive, every one of them. Whir, whoosh, haze, swirl, ad nauseum -- this record holds all of these elements at their most exciting and mastered. But in the end, great pop records necessitate quality songs, which Nowhere delivers throughout. Undeniably, it's Ride's zenith -- dense, tight, hypnotic. "Seagull" serves as a dynamic opener; after a couple seconds of light feedback, bassist Steve Queralt kicks in with a rubbery, elliptical line (reminiscent of a certain Beatles song), which is soon followed by Andy Bell and Mark Gardener's guitar twists and Loz Colbert's alternately gentle and punishing drumming. After the upbeat "Kaleidoscope," the record falls into a tempo lull that initially seems impenetrable and meandering. However, patience reveals a five-song suite of sorts, full of lovely instrumental passages that are punctuated with violent jabs of manic guitars. The endlessly escalating "Polar Bear" is a high point, featuring expertly placed tom rolls from Colbert. The tempo picks up for the closing "Vapour Trail," a wistful pop song with chiming background guitars galore and mournful strings to close it out. The U.S. version was bolstered significantly with the remainder of the Fall EP ("Dreams Burn Down" having reappeared earlier in the record). "Taste" is one of their finest pure pop numbers; the moody/driving "Here and Now" rates well, and the five-minute "Nowhere" is a nasty distorto-freakout. [Nowhere was remastered and reissued by Ignition U.K. in 2001. Added to the 11 tracks featured on Sire's U.S. edition are the four selections from the equally wondrous Today Forever.] ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
Ride (Main Performer), Joe Dilworth (Photography), Alan Moulder (Mixing), Marc Waterman (Engineer), Loz Colbert (Drums), Steve Queralt (Bass), Mark Gardener (Guitar), Mark Gardener (Vocals), Andy Bell (Guitar), Andy Bell (Vocals)
The album was originally conceived as just the first eight tracks, as on the cassette and LP versions. The tracks "Taste", "Here and Now" and "Nowhere" originally featured on the FallEP were included to add value to the (then, more expensive) CD version. Along with "Dreams Burn Down" these tracks made up the complete Fall EP.
The album was re-released on 24 September2001 featuring the original 11 tracks and the following bonus tracks taken from the Today Forever EP:
"Unfamiliar"
"Sennen"
"Beneath"
"Today"
The band name and title, visible in the image of the album, were added for the 2001 CD re-release. Originally the LP cover had the band name in embossed text in the location of the visible text and an embossed album title in the lower right corner. The original cassette and CD releases featured no band name and album title on the cover but usually came with an identifying sticker on the outside of the CD or cassette case.
