Many years after their rise from college radio, the band from Athens, Georgia resurfaces with Accelerate. Fans that had hoped this new release will be a successful comeback may get their wish, though they will have to resign themselves to the fact that the album is not as ground-breaking as Automatic for The People; however it does satisfy a long desire for R.E.M. to resurface on the planet.
One immediate observation is the songs are just around the two- or three-minute mark, making the entire album 34 minutes in length. Could the shortened song lengths be for commercial purposes, recognizing the shift in music buying behavior as consumers evaluate curt snippets on digital download sites before purchasing to their iPods? If that is the case, an old band is once again on the cutting edge.
Accelerate is the thirteenth studio album in twenty-seven years for the band, which rose up from the alternative, college radio scene and went mainstream in the late eighties.
Pleasingly, Accelerate turns back to R.E.M.'s original musical sound but does not pretend to go back in time. There is no attempt to reminisce about their beginnings—the band understands it is 2008. However, they have returned to their indie roots with this release, with its classic R.E.M vibe.
As an example, Living Well Is The Best Revenge opens with their famous D Chord, and immediately attracts wailing sounds from lead singer Michael Stripe. Most of the songs continue with politically charged lyrics that paint a tainted reality, as on "Houston" when he sings, "If the storm doesn't kill me the government will."
Luckily, their sound does most of the talking, and not their political viewpoints, as in the catchy chorus of "Man Sized Wreath," which is definitely an attention-grabber. This album is a complete recall of R.E.M's original sound.
Some critics have noted an evolving bitterness; however the band has earned their right to be amongst the "Shiny Happy People" in an ever evolving world of music's smorgasbord.
Highlights of the album include "Supernatural, Superserious," alternately the lead single, which surmises a whole lot from where the band sits today. Did someone say bitter?
Alisa Carraro is the founder and creator of www.SoundOrbit.com an independent music download platform.
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