R.E.M.
Accelerate
Warner Bros., 2008
By Crow Winters
The catchphrase for the advertising campaign of R.E.M.’s latest project has been “Return to Form”, but that’s really not entirely fair when you consider a back-catalog as varied and expansive as this trio’s. Which “form” are you referring to, exactly, Mr. Album Sticker?
It’s not really a secret, though — R.E.M. divided their fan base with the incredibly arty and electronic LPs Up and Reveal, both of which point to a bit of naivety on R.E.M.’s part, if they really thought that such a non-radio-friendly direction would sell well, regardless of their (very high, in my opinion) quality. After these, and the disappointingly mid-tempo and predictable Around the Sun, Michael Stipe and company have regrouped to try and inject a new fire into the classic R.E.M. sound.
The new joint, Accelerate, is an unabashed pop album. Many tracks clock in under or around 3 minutes, and sparkle with a familiar ’80s college-radio jangle. Occasionally the pop frame of reference is a little dated (“Horse of Water” sounds suspiciously like a Pearl Jam B-side, and the chiming of “Mr. Richards” like a simplified Billy Corgan rhythm guitar), but R.E.M. hasn’t been this straightforward since 1992’s Automatic for the People.
There are many moments of Accelerate that sound less like a new direction and more like a conscious decision to take something classic and redefine it through their current experiences. Moving between tracks is the same as opening time capsules. Sometimes the content, like “Living Well Is The Best Revenge,” which sits amongst the best material R.E.M. has written in a long time, is a sheer thrill. Other times, like with the streamlined “Hollow Man,” and the Automatic for the People-nostalgic “Until the Day is Done,” it can be embarrassing.
Fortunately, those two tracks are really the only two clunkers on the album. There’s a lot to enjoy for old R.E.M. fans here: “Houston” has the growl and grit of “Swan Swan H,” and “Sing for the Submarine” is a lyrical treat in which old-school fans can find as many references as they want. And there are splashes of forward-thinking surprises; “I’m Gonna DJ,” barely clocking in at 2 minutes, is a white-knuckle rocker that is all too fitting of Stipe’s sarcastic descriptions of apocalyptic excess.
Overall, Accelerate is an energetic, though occasionally splotchy, success. It’s doubtful that it’ll be more then a positive footnote in their repertoire in a few years’ time, but after getting electronic experimentation out of their system, it’s really nice to hear a pop album that has intelligence and songwriting at the forefront, as opposed to the flavor-of-the-moment clichés that have dominated the industry while R.E.M. went on their self-imposed exile.
