Ride's Andy Bell will release his second solo album, Flicker, on February 11 via Sonic Cathedral. It's an 18-track double album that stems from songs he'd started at his former Beadie Eye bandmate Gem Archer's studio well before the pandemic. Bell says in some ways it represents a bit of artistic time travel, from the album art which features an outtake from the photo sessions for Ride's 1990 album Nowhere to the songs, some of which date back to the '80s.
“When I think about Flicker, I see it as closure,” says Andy. “Most literally, on a half-finished project from over six years ago, but also on a much bigger timescale. Some of these songs date back to the ’90s and the cognitive dissonance of writing brand new lyrics over songs that are 20-plus years old makes it feel like it is, almost literally, me exchanging ideas with my younger self.”
The first single from the album is "Something Like Love," that could be a parallel universe version of Ride's "Vapour Trail," which similar chords and strumming but a very different outcome. It's beautiful song and you can watch the video below.
Andy has solo live dates in the UK coming up soon and those are listed below.