I've always had a soft spot for R.E.M. Although I used to love hardcore punk, I didn't really find 'college' rock until 1987 and I got into Document. That led me directly to The Replacements, The Smiths, Camper van Beethoven, etc. Because of this, I've always cut Stipe and Co. some slack. Their past three albums have been 'challenging' for me. I figure I can stitch a great album out of combining the three, and I admired their willingness to experiment and get out of the box, but the music was mannered and more than a little cold.
I'm pleased to say that Accelerate returns an urgency to the band I haven't heard since the late 80s. Many will compare this album to Monster because of the LOUD guitars, but this is actually a lot more like the faster stuff on Life's Rich Pageant. The songs are catchy on first listen and Stipe has never sounded better. Back too are the great harmonies of Mike Mills, which were pretty much missing in action for the past ten years. And did I mention that the eleven songs take a scant 33 minutes to tear through? I will soon Feature This Presentation. Welcome back fellas!
5 comments:
Somewhere along the line, I just quit paying attention to REM. I think it was Green. I honestly can't say that with the exception of one or two albums, I've heard anything that did not get regular airplay off any albums after that. I've read a lot of reviews that say this one rocks, so I've been looking forward to hearing it. And I'd still LOVE to see them live.
I also quit listening to REM awhile back, but I lost interest somewhere around Automatic For The People. (Holy cow, that was 1992?!) Anyway - on your recommendation alone, Deighve - I would LOVE to give the new one a spin on the hard drive.
I also lost interest in the early 90's -- I had not realized I was not alone in my shame. Look forward to hearign th enew one though, especially if the Life's Rich Pageant sound is back.
Absolutely classic interview of the band by Stephen Colbert at this link:
http://stereogum.com/archives/video/stephen-colbert-uses-rems-accelerate-as-a-cod-piec_008698.html
He's respectful/clueless/hilarious in doing so. As a bonus, the band plays a song, although its far from my fave on the new album.
My story's the same. I still love Chronic, Murmur, Reckoning, and Life's R.P. I'm very excited to hear this one!
Post a Comment