By Ryan Broderick
R.E.M. is back with their first studio album in four years and it’s fast. Both crunchier and quicker paced, it’s titled “Accelerate,” just to further let the listeners know it’s not as slow paced as their previous studio effort, “Around The Sun.”
The band released “Around The Sun” in 2004 and it ended up being a commercial and critical failure. Looking back, the guys of R.E.M. themselves decided they weren’t proud of it either. Guitarist Peter Buck told Q Magazine, “It wasn’t as good as it should have been.”
This time around, “Accelerate” is a huge return to form and is very much a message to fans that they still know how to keep the pace going. Every song pulses and shakes, but unfortunately, it’s not nearly as great in reality as it is in theory.
R.E.M. became a success for atmospheric, raw-edged, introspective alternative rock in the late ’80s and throughout the ’90s. Their newest album can only really use one of those adjectives to describe it. It’s “raw-edged” but only because it’s meant to be. What “Accelerate” is missing is a genuine quality.
To put it bluntly, “Accelerate” is the musical equivalent of an old man running a marathon. Sure, he’s keeping up with the younger runners, but he’s still straining. R.E.M. is your dad singing a T-Paine song. You’re kind of impressed that he knows all the words, but you know he’s struggling to figure out if it’s the one about the fur boots or the Nike’s with the straps.
R.E.M. has aged, and that’s no surprise. Bands age. What’s too bad is that they’re not aging well. The buzz on the album so far has been positive. Entertainment Weekly gave it an A- and Rolling Stone four stars out of five. But all the critical acclaim is almost completely supported by the strength of its single, “Supernatural, Superserious,” and a few gems mixed in with a bunch of filler. Songs like “Hollow Man” or “Mr. Richards” are just as enjoyable, but most of the tracks in between just take up space.
It’s unfortunate, but the weakest parts of the album are the lyrics and melodies of vocalist Michael Stipe. His voice has aged, and in his best efforts, he pulls off a young Lou Reed. At his worst, well, he just sounds like a really old Michael Stipe.
“Accelerate” has hints and traces of old R.E.M. strewn about. The truth is they’re getting old, and it doesn’t sound like they’ve yet fully figured out how to sound like a bunch of middle-aged guys who still play music. They’re close, much closer than they were in “Around The Sun,” but everything’s still a little flat.
The band drifts into garage rock a little too often, and sadly they choose to try and hide their age by feigning immaturity. The only insturment that translates well into their lo-fi sound is the guitar and only in doses.
Even if they are still working out the kinks, R.E.M. has reminded everyone it’s still a rock band; a victory for fans and band members alike. Hopefully next time they’ll “rock out” with a bit more depth.
(wikipedia.org)
R.E.M. hopes to win back fans and critics alike with their new release. (myspace.com)