Premature Evaluation: R.E.M. - Accelerate
Although we usually give our knee jerk reactions to anticipated releases every Friday, there was no waiting 'til the end of the week to share first impressions of this one -- particularly when we have a friend so highly qualified to offer insight. Help us welcome Drive XV essayist/Pop Songs 08 proprietor/R.E.M. master Matthew Perpetua as he evaluates the latest from our favorite Athenians...
Back when I interviewed R.E.M.'s Mike Mills for the Drive XV project, he mentioned that one of the objectives the band had going into their fourteenth studio album was to write shorter songs. Well, they succeeded: Half of the tracks on Accelerate clock in at under three minutes, and a quarter of them are just barely over the two minute mark. In total, Accelerate zooms on by in 34 minutes, making it the shortest full-length in the band's discography, and nearly half the length of Around The Sun, Up, and New Adventures In Hi-Fi. Despite a few folky dirges on the second half, the cumulative effect of Accelerate is a bit like a roller coaster ride -- you wait forever to get on it (it's been four years since Around The Sun!), it's a total rush in the moment, and when it's over, it leaves you wanting to go back and do it again.
The rockers sound like juiced-up versions of their IRS-era rave-ups, but the songs are almost entirely devoid of nostalgia. Sure, they are certainly reconnecting with the sound of their early records, but they aren't trying to recapture their youth. The thing is, they've never sounded older: Michael Stipe sings every number in his gruff, low register and comes across as being much older than he actually is, and even though the band have never sounded as aggro as they do on songs like "Horse To Water" and "Living Well Is The Best Revenge," the music conveys a bitter, resigned sort of anger that is increasingly typical of aging punks from the '80s. (For example, check out Bob Mould's new one, or anything Ian McKaye has done since the start of this decade.)
Let's get into the individual songs, shall we?
1. "Living Well Is The Best Revenge"
Ideally, this should've been the first single, if just because no other song on the record is as effective in making the listener think "OMG R.E.M. IS BACK!!!" Basically, this is the band coming out swinging, with a tight, fast rocker that quickly establishes the aggressive, defiant tone of the album.
2. "Man-Sized Wreath"
It's shocking to think that the band had originally relegated this one to b-side status. It's a catchy, dynamic rocker that features some very inspired backing vocals from Mike Mills, and a nearly subliminal deep voice intoning the lyrics of the chorus just after Michael sings them.
3. "Supernatural Superserious"
Upon hearing the album in full, it's easy to understand why this was pegged as the lead single. It may not be the best track, but it's certainly the most commercial song on the record with its several instantly ingratiating hooks and a lovely backing vocal from Mike Mills. Lyrically, it's basically a rewritten version of "Imitation Of Life" from Reveal, and yet another in Michael Stipe's ongoing series of pep-talk tunes.
4. "Hollow Man"
This one has the best fake-out in the R.E.M. catalog: You think it's going to be a tinkly piano ballad, but then it bolts off in the opposite direction, and shifts into a jumpy power-pop anthem. The lyrics are a bit on-the-nose, but eh, what can you do?
5. "Houston"
Consider this exhibit A for why the band were wise to become fixated on the length of the songs. On the last few R.E.M. albums, "Houston" would've been at least twice as long and would've likely worn out its welcome. However, at just over two minutes, the grim folk number has an air of mystery, and a potent atmosphere provided by a keyboard part that sounds a bit like Mike Mills accidentally leaning on an overdriven organ.
6. "Accelerate"
I can't imagine that this is at all intentional, but some of Accelerate actually reminds me of late-period Guided By Voices, specifically the Isolation Drills album, and the way that record cross-breeds the jangle of early '80s R.E.M. with cold, angular post-punk riffs and pseudo-prog structures.
7. "Until The Day Is Done"
This dour ballad isn't the album's finest moment, but it serves as a cool-out period in the running order, and its similarity to "Final Straw" from Around The Sun provides a connecting thread from Accelerate to the band's more recent material. Don't let that freak you out too much, though -- it also sounds a bit like "Swan Swan H" from Lifes Rich Pageant.
8. "Mr. Richards"
Undoubtedly one of the highlights of Accelerate, "Mr. Richards" sets a gorgeous quasi-Simon & Garfunkel ballad to a blaring, somewhat shoegazer-ish guitar part, resulting in something that would've been a huge hit if it had come out in 1994. Perhaps not coincidentally, it bears a slight resemblance to R.E.M.'s biggest hit of that year, "What's The Frequency, Kenneth?"
9. "Sing For The Submarine"
"Sing For The Submarine" begins as a dirgey ballad, but morphs into a moody epic with a blistering solo and a thundering drums. Fans will no doubt be pleased to hear that the lyrics make deliberate references to oldies such as "Feeling Gravity's Pull," "Electron Blue," and "It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)."
10. "Horse To Water"
Imagine "Little America" from Reckoning, but at triple speed and a hundred times more aggro. Imagine Mike Mills and Peter Buck with 'roid rage. Imagine Michael Stipe running after you, threatening to "pound the daylights out of you." You have just imagined this song.
11. "I'm Gonna DJ"
There are a few cringe-inducing lyrics in this Around The Sun tour staple, but it's easy to forgive when the song is so joyful and urgent. It's an inspired conclusion to the record, mainly because it so effectively contrasts its glee and humor with this apocalyptic paranoia. In other words, it's R.E.M.'s version of "1999."
Accelerate is out 4/1 on Warner.
Posted at 6:30 PM in Premature Evaluation
Tags: R.E.M.
The important question: HAS IT LEAKED?
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what does web sheriff think of the new REM album?
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this is good news. i'm excited for this album. in reading the popsongs blog over the last year or whatever i think MP's r.e.m. preferences and mine are pretty similar, so i'll take his word that this album is good, and i think i'll actually go to the store and buy it on the day it comes out. but i won't listen to a leak no way no how.
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They should've kept their promise to break up at the turn of the millennium.
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Drip, drip, drip...
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The GBV/Isolation Drills remark - that's it!
I'd been listening to these songs in live form, and thinking it reminded me of something, the kick in the teeth of a stomping rocker the album will be, and you are right, it might just be Isolation Drills. of course, I can't say that yet until I hear it.
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I think you're right, Bill. It's painful to witness Stipe's descent into a cringe-inducing, Dr. Phil-inspired lyricist. I half-expect him to start talking about Xenu.
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THANK YOU MATTHEW...been dying for a peek into this record, no better insight but yours this side of Athens!
counting down the minutes...
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HAHA, this is a great review! Cracked me up. And it reminded me that I fucking love "I'm Gonna DJ" despite everyone at murmurs.com trying to turn me against it, just like they tried to do with Reveal (which I say is an incredible pop album... not to be confused with an 'incredible rock album,' of course).
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well done, this is exactly what the album sounds like. Imagine R.E.M as the bastard child of Joe Strummer and Joey Ramone. The description of "Horse to Water" is right on target. Made me laugh. Best album in 14 years and yes, I pre-date it to before Berry left.
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I really tried resisting reading this review so early on. But temptation gave in, and I truely can say I haven't been this excited waiting for a new album to be released in years. I've only heard SUPERNATURAL SUPERSERIOUS which I love more each time I hear it. Looks like 2008 is going to be a great year for REM fans.
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GRAMMY
JAMMY
SLAMMY
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I'm so jealous, but I guess the next best thing to actually hearing the record is getting a good song-by-song recap. I'm glad to hear that you think "Living Well" turned out well - I've been excited to hear the recorded version of that ever since I saw them open their rehearsals in Dublin with that one.
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What an album! This one stands alone for me...can't compare it to any other album of theirs nor should it me..Its seems the album that many REM wanted the band to make is made..so please be happy with it and for those that bailed out after Monster..All I have to say is Ha Ha..You were wrong..Up was great, Reveal alot of good tunes and Around the Sun had its moments that will live on nice melodies and hooks..This is a vast improvement though..I haven't heard it yet but I know its all there...Take a bow boys...
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You haven't even heard it yet Joe, yet you are raving about it?
Wow.
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Call me cynical, but I find it difficult to believe that someone who writes an REM blog can provide an objective review. Isn't that like asking Chris Crocker to review the latest Britney Spears album?
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I understand where you're coming from, but have you actually read the site? It's very much a critical endeavor, and many songs get negative or indifferent reviews.
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Call me cynical, but I find it difficult to believe that somebody who has studied a subject could offer an interesting opinion on it.
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Ok--you're cynical.
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Ok--you're cynical.
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They didn't slow Living Wells down to a slow crawl did they?! Tell me it's at the same tempo as the live shows! Not another Walk Unafraid please!!
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I think I benefited from the fact that I discovered REM when I was 14 and started with 'Up' working my way backwards to 'Murmur.' I have a lot of fondness for their post Berry sound (Although I do understand why albums like Automatic are considered their zenith.) I personally can't wait. Bring it on!
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I'm right with you Diane, except I started at 12 with Automatic.
I loved Up and Reveal, but Around the Sun sucked so badly, I don't know if they can recover. I kind of got the "I-hate-you-because-you're-not-as-smart-as-I-am" vibe from anything they've done post-Reveal. I'm excited to see how this little number turns out, maybe they were just having a bad run.
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"It [I'm Gonna DJ]'s an inspired conclusion to the record, mainly because it so effectively contrasts its glee and humor with this apocalyptic paranoia. In other words, it's R.E.M.'s version of '1999.'"
Or REM's version of "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)". Whatever works for you.
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im a huge gbv fan...but gbv actually sounds like REM - at times - not really the other way around... take a listen to the very early gbv stuff and they sound like an REM cover band..pollard absolutely loves REM so the similarities are no surprise, nor are they denied by him
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I keep thinking this is gonna leak any second and then it doesn't.
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http://www.megaupload.com/?d=BZAVQRJ0
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I want Stipe and co. to escape from my musical killfile. With songs as awful as "Supernatural Superserious," they're not going to anytime soon. I sort of enjoyed it half of the first listen... but it kept on going, and going, and going. And the second listen was no fun even at the beginning. (I admit it's a thrill, though a bittersweet one, to hear Mike Mills's part.)
The ongoing destruction of Stipe's voice is a sad thing. The musical banality of REM Act II: Rinse Lather and Repeat is sadder. But saddest of all is that the man who wrote "So. Central Rain" and "Swan Swan H." and "Monty Got a Raw Deal" is reduced to rewriting the same pathetic and useless pep talk over and over.
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Face it, The R.E.M. all of us late thirty- and fortysomethings loved is gone, and they are never coming back. But to say they suck is unfair. I enjoyed alot of the latter albums (1997 and after) with "New Adventures" being their best of those. I want them to be relevant in todays god-awlful music scene. I'm sure they want to be too.
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I've been listening to the leaked torrent of the album, and it's a very good rock album - though by the REM 80's yardstick, not completely classic. Short is effective here, and the songs have the group dynamic that was completely missing from the last few records...but still it seems a tad slight, somehow vaguely less than substantial, as if the moves are there but the heart is missing. "Have I become the Hollow Man" indeed. Better than most albums you'll hear, but no Document.
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Huge GBV and REM fan but not hearing the simillarities. I'll have to listen more. Overall I agree that the album is the best in years but "slight" is a good word for it. It's like gorging on a good meal but leaving hungry. Man Sized Wreath stands up with their best rockers ever.
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U2's music does not sound forced or comercialized.
That said, looking forward to hearing REM's new stuff!
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U2's music does not sound forced or comercialized.
That said, looking forward to hearing REM's new stuff!
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It's been quite awhile since I've listened to a CD over and over again. Accelerate is another masterpiece from REM and it's playing right now. To my ears it sounds like a convergence of the many styles they've created and developed over the years. They're still wholly original. There was a lot to like about Reveal and Up remains one of my favorite REM works. The band SOUNDS GREAT! Stipe sounds like he did twenty years ago, Buck and Mills have retained their genius and the drumming is kick ass! It's the best album I've heard since American Idiot.
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It's been quite awhile since I've listened to a CD over and over again. Accelerate is another masterpiece from REM and it's playing right now. To my ears it sounds like a convergence of the many styles they've created and developed over the years. They're still wholly original. There was a lot to like about Reveal and Up remains one of my favorite REM works. The band SOUNDS GREAT! Stipe sounds like he did twenty years ago, Buck and Mills have retained their genius and the drumming is kick ass! It's the best album I've heard since American Idiot.
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I'm gonna DJ at the end of the world, and Accelerate will be in heavy rotation.
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