THE BLACK RYDER

The Black Ryder is shoegaze goth meets post-punk revival. They intertwine the sounds of ’80s British synthpop and electronic rock (see, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Stone Roses, and The Cure) with the neo-psychedelic, alt-rock of the ’90s (Dandy Warhols, Brian Jonestown Massacre) and lastly tie it all together with the back-to-basic guitar sounds that emerged in the early 2000s with acts like Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Raveononettes and Interpol.

The band was formed in 2007 by founding members Aimee Nash (vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion) and Scott Von Ryper (vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, percussion). The Australian duo enlist the help of friends/guest players to form the live extensions of their music. They’ve had guests ranging from Leah Shapiro and Peter Hayes from Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (an obvious influence),to Malia James from the Dum Dum Girls. The Black Ryder take a dark, sultry approach to shoegaze with their sprawling layers of droney, blissed-out guitars and ethereal vocals–they have a kaleidoscopic sound.

Since the release of their debut album, Buy The Ticket, Take The Ride, the band has toured and opened up for a range of notable acts, including: Prima Scream, The Black Angles, and Broken Social Scene, and have developed a cult following. With the release of their second album, The Door Behind The Door (The Anti-Machine Machine, 2015), the duo has proven they’re a band with no restriction to a certain era and a certain genre. Their music is heavily influenced by specific and identifiable sounds from a range of different bands: the sound the band creates is something vivivd, uncompromising and sublime.

They bring new textures into their music–layers and layers of emotive and majestic guitar riffs that are accompanied by blissfully, dark and brooding vocals. They swirl together breathy post-punk intensities, mournful shoegaze melodies, and psychedelic sprawl to create an ethereal drone and dead-eyed harmonies. The music is intended to be listened to as one long and overwhelming ride, and it’s a very intimate one at that. »

– Samantha Lopez

Catch The Black Ryder (with Rick Bain and the Genius Position) in Portland August 19 at Mississippi Studios