R.E.M.

R.E.M.
ACCELERATE (2008)
320 KBPS

This is it. This really is the one: the killer comeback R.E.M.'s long-suffering original fans have been hoping for since the band detoured into electronic introspection in 1998. Peter Buck's guitars are front and centre, driving the tracks rather than decorating their edges. Mike Mills can finally be heard again on bass and backups. Stipe's vocals are as rich and complex and scathing as ever, but for the first time in a decade he sounds like he believes every word. And finally, at long last, it feels like a human being is manning the drums again. It's exuberant, angry, joyous, wild - everything the last three albums, for all their deep and subtle rewards, were not. Superficially, this feels like the true successor to "New Adventures in Hi-Fi", or what that album itself might have been had the band bunkered down in the studio for a month rather than putting down tracks on the road. But in reality it's better. Ten years of studio-based experimentation and tweaking a new line-up have paid off. Tight, rich and consummately professional, the immediate loose-and-live feel of "Accelerate" is deceptive. This really is an exquisitely crafted album that repays close listening, just as the last three did for those of us who bothered. The crucial difference is that it ultimately feels less studied, less worried-over, less cautious - because it doesn't need to be. The band sound present, engaged, completely confident in their direction and abilities. Best of all, they sound like they're enjoying themselves again. And that joy is irresistible. No matter what your view of the last three albums (I liked them all), you've got nothing to complain about here. This kind of music really is what R.E.M. do best, and they deliver it in spades.

1. Living Well Is The Best Revenge
2. Man-Sized Wreath
3. Supernatural Superserious
4. Hollow Man
5. Houston
6. Accelerate
7. Until The Day Is Done
8. Mr. Richards
9. Sing For The Submarine
10. Horse To Water
11. I'm Gonna DJ