Ride - Peace Sign

“Peace Sign” isn’t just a good song, it is the sound of aging gracefully. The band Ride has been around since 1988, and in their early days made a name for themselves with britpoppy/shoegazey gems. I was never a huge Ride guy. It was one of those things where I bought the entire Nowhere CD in 1990 for one song — “Vapour Trail” — and proceeded to only listen to that one song. Man, I wasted a lot of money on CDs like that. If you are old enough, you know what I mean.

I had totally forgotten about Ride until 2017 when the band released “Charm Assault,” which is also pretty great. What impressed me then and continues to impress with 2024’s “Peace Sign” is what the band isn’t trying to be. Ride doesn’t seem to be either trying to re-capture the style of their youth (an impossibility) — nor do they seem interested in chasing trends of today (no TikTok). The result is a straightforward, age appropriate pop rock song with plenty of hooks that doesn’t suck. It’s like British version of dad rock. Hell, the song is called “Peace Sign,” ya big boomer.

Admittedly, your mileage may vary with this pick. It’s not something you can really dance to. And, I mean, > I < like singing along with the smooth vocals in the refrain, but I was a big Britpop guy, so I was already inclined to do so. “Peace Sign” is something I legitimately enjoy, but also appreciate because perhaps I too can age gracefully. Perhaps, as I write these daily recs, I can care less about what other people will think about them, and have it be enough to share them because I like sharing them. That would be its own sign of some kind of peace.