Album: Accelerate
Genre: Alternative
Label: Warner Bros.
Few in the YouTube generation understand the cultural relevance of alternative pioneers, R.E.M. When they emerged in the early ‘80s, they played a type of music which (at the time) had no name and was played exclusively on college radio. Successors like Nirvana, Beck and Red Hot Chili Peppers may have swept it into the mainstream, but without the influence of R.E.M. (among the equally great Pixies) alternative would still live deep underground if at all.
Their first four albums set the standard for hordes of followers and placed them on an untouchable pedestal above all the others. Twenty-two years and ten albums later, however, we seem to have forgotten that such a grand and influential band ever existed. They too it seemed wanted to stamp themselves out of history books by releasing a slew of forgetful, sobering and awful albums after the departure of drummer Bill Berry. Their last studio effort, Around the Sun (2004), had fans scratching their heads as the band abandoned their unapologetic jangle rock for a somber, keyboard-smothered set. Some wondered if there was any hope for the onward-limping R.E.M.
After the release of Accelerate, their fourteenth album to date, the answer is a resounding “yes!” Not only does it exhibit a true return to form, but it is also their best since 1986’s unparalleled Life’s Rich Pageant. Somewhere in their four year absence, they decided to stop exploring new territory and return to what they do best, playing fast and playing well.
They open with the rigorous, self-absolving “Living Well is the Best Revenge” in which singer Michael Stipe declares that he and the band have entered a new era and will continue despite “the poison [that] spins into the life you’d hoped to live.” From there it only gets better. The head bangers are fierce and satisfying and even the ballads are filled with an undeniable energy.
Of course no album is without its issues, but to dwell on them would be to taint one of the best I’ve heard in years. One complaint I must voice, however, is that Accelerate clocks in at just over thirty minutes. Just when it gets going, it’s over.
Repeat listens, however, are greatly rewarded. Every time there is something new to enjoy, whether musically, lyrically or on some deep psychological level. Accelerate recalls a time when music fed the soul and not simply the ears. Whether or not you are a fan of alternative, this is one you can’t afford to miss.
-Anthony Kozlowski
LISTEN TO THIS:
“Living Well is the Best Revenge”
Tags: Accelerate, album, alternative, Music, new music, R.E.M., review, sample, Warner Bros.
April 8, 2008 at 8:45 pm |
Reliving every moment really entertains my right ear muscle.