Ride’s Andy Bell has announced his debut solo album, titled The View From Halfway Down, set for release on October 9 via Sonic Cathedral. Accompanying the announcement, Bell has shared the lead single ‘Love Comes in Waves’, alongside a psychedelic music video directed by Chris Tomsett. Check it out below, and scroll down for the cover artwork and tracklist.
Initially inspired by the death of David Bowie, the album was recorded over the next four years and finished during lockdown. “I’ve always wanted to make a solo album,” Bell said in a statement. “I’ve always said I would do it, although I never imagined it happening like, or sounding like, this one does. I’d been sitting on this pile of almost finished tracks, along with all the other hundreds of ideas that had fallen by the wayside since I’ve been making music. Lockdown gave me the opportunity to find a way to present it to the world.”
He added: “The album is not about songwriting. There aren’t many verses or choruses, because this album is about sounds, a listening experience.”
The title of the album is taken froma poem written by Alison Tafel for the penultimate episode of Bojack Horseman. “The poem describes someone committing suicide by jumping to their death and the regret the protagonist experiences when he sees “the view from halfway down”,” Bell explained. “Although, of course, it’s too late to change what’s going to happen. I read this poem as having a message of suicide prevention: if you could see the view from halfway down, you would never go through with anything that would end your life. I’ve never been suicidal, but I felt really moved by this brilliant poem when I watched the show during Ride’s U.S. tour in Autumn 2019. It’s an incredible message.”
He continued: “There was a small kind of a parallel with me, sitting at home in London in March 2020. In the early stages of lockdown, you could feel the tension in the air, causing what felt like a global panic attack. But, in common with what I’ve heard from others who can experience anxiety for no reason in their everyday lives, I felt strangely calm in the midst of all of this, seeing things in my life very clearly. Such clarity allowed me to finally compile this record. In a way, to see my life flash before me and be able to curate moments of it into a 40-minute listening experience, then find a title that would fit. I also got a lot of DIY done.”
The View From Halfway Down Cover Artwork:
The View From Halfway Down Tracklist:
1. Love Comes in Waves
2. Indica
3. Ghost Tones
4. Skywalker
5. Aubrey Drylands Gladwell
6. Cherry Cola
7. I Was Alone
8. Heat Haze on Weyland Road
