In Brief:

*** Ride, “Nowhere,” Sire/Reprise. The 12,748th band to be declared the “next big thing” by the British rock press is one that’s really worth considerable notice. This first real album moves leaps and bounds beyond the Oxford quartet’s promising EPs (collected on the recent “Smile” album) with a dense, insistent sound that advances groundwork laid by both the Jesus and Mary Chain and several 4AD acts, but without the oppressive darkness of the former or the gauzed obscurity of the latter. Definitely a ride to somewhere. Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to five (a classic).