2008-04-30
"When we went into the album we decided we just want to play fast". This phrase is what Mike Miles said on an interview regarding the new REM album. This declaration, which sounds like it has no real measured rational agenda to back it up or some might say is a childish whim , turned out to be the best motivation this band needed. Maybe the fact that this whim is a pure feeling and not a "think of it" piece makes this album the best album REM has released in over a decade.
1996's "New adventures at the Hi-Fi" was REM'S last really good album to be released until now. Unfortunately, it is also their least acknowledged album as well. Being released after the hit-filled "Automatic for the people" has done some damages to the album which didn't exactly have the "radio hit" everybody waited for. Not everyone was interested in real high-quality music from the band that gave them "Man on the moon" and "Loosing my religion"; Ever since they released "it's the end of the world as we know it", people wanted them to make ear friendly pop hits but REM was always a band of much more than that offer, which sentenced that album to be ignored.
The following album, "Up", got much more attention for hits such as "Daysleeper" and "At my most beautiful", filling the "Everybody hurts" role. It really wasn’t' a bad album, but it wasn't as good either, just more popular. On their next few albums, REM found themselves wallowing in the kiddy pool, not managing to get back to the deep ends.
In one of the episodes on "Studio 60" (while the show lasted, shame on whoever decided to stop running it) two new writers, Lucy and Darius couldn't manage to write a good sketch for the show. As a treatment one of the head writers decided to run the sketch anyway, hoping that the cold moments of silence, or the sound of no one laughing, will traumatize them enough into writing a good sketch. "Around the sun" and "Reveal" were REM's sketches.
I guess those shocking moments of silence paid off because even before "Accelerate" begins you can feel the wind of change that influenced the band. It began with the idea of releasing it first to the "facebook" social network (which hasn't even based itself as a good musical promoter source, but I guess it will now), the cool
supernatural superserious website, presenting the first single in 12 different versions including a surrealistic car performance. And to summarize experience from the recording process they launched the
ninety nights website, uploading a short clip each night- For, well, 90 nights.
If this album wasn't good in any way, you'd probably hear much more about its promotion techniques then on its musical content. But "Accelerate" is just a brilliant album. REM sound like a band that only wants to make music. Good high-speed music that justifies its own quality even without the REM trademark on it. This album just rocks out in the best manner there is.
The album's opening "Living well is the best revenge" is a kick off start, rightfully introducing the album it stands for. Peter Buck's overdriven guitar bursts into the sonic space with a fast good old REM riff, Stipe's vocal pick up the pace quickly and they both go at it like race horses at the track. From the first note and on they just warm up further and further more, trying to get as much music out, with as least breathing pauses as they can, Mike Mills' vocals hovering over just magnify the range of wild energies around this song and album.
Sounding like a young & promising upcoming band they storm onto the second track "Man sized wreath", conserving the adrenalin rush for one more round. For the next 11 tracks they will push the energetic boundaries, rocking around like four 20 year-old driven guys on a weekend, all directed into one motivated album.
Co-producing the album with REM is Jacknife Lee, a producer I can never really get my head around on. On the one hand he did an excellent job on this album, and he is responsible for Bloc Party's "Weekend in the city", which is by far one of the best albums of 2007. On the other hand, he is also held responsible for one of the worst albums of the last past few years - U2's "How to dismantle and atomic bomb". In general (excluding REM, Weezer and U2), he has based himself as a producer of recent years alternative rock bands such as Editors, The Hives, Snow Patrol, and Kasabian (and the Green Day & U2's fiasco "When the saints come marching in").
All in all harmless but not too impressive efforts, though his work for the two albums I've mentioned (REM & Bloc party) indicate an interesting talent, though I won't dare to compare to producers such as Rick Rubin (the impressive work of Rubin can't be easily discussed as he is a phenomena in rock history).
"Accelerate" is accurate by name. REM in-fact accelerates their way back into the pantheon of well-maturing rock bands. They've could've easily become one of those bands with a firm steady fanbase, that every two years or so release a new mediocre album, which their fans adore and the critics dismiss. But if this album is in any way an indicator for the quality of future albums to come, then we will probably get to witness Michael Stipe and co D.J at the end of the world.
Roy Povarchik
