About Stefan Halley
Location: Malmo, Sweden
Occupation: Editor-in-Chief
Bio: Stefan has been writing reviews for seven years and started Pop Syndicate out of need to voice his mis-guided opinion.
Posts: 719
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I don’t know where R.E.M. has been; I’m just glad they’re back.
The R.E.M. that fans fell in love with back in their indie rocker days is back, finally. Going mainstream screwed up a good thing and they’ve had some rocky years. They’ve had a few good albums since 1988’s Green (Monster and Automatic For the People), but signing a ridiculously expensive contract with Warner Brothers didn’t help keep in touch with their musical roots. Accelerate is everything you love about R.E.M. It’s Monster, Green, Life’s Rich Pageant and New Adventures in Hi-Fi all rolled into one.
That’s not say the R.E.M. has become redundant after fourteen albums. Instead, they are bringing the best of what they do to light and turning out a gritty, rocking album that is feels both fresh and familiar. Their past few albums have felt like the band was off. They were trying something new and couldn’t figure out how to make it work. Stipe and crew put all that away and just decided to crank out solid, soulful rock album.
“Living Well’s the Best Revenge” rocks out with Peter Buck’s jangling riffs. Stipe’s voice rocks along with a frantic urgency we haven’t heard in years. At only 35 minutes, Accelerate races along and churns out one impressive track after another. Earthy, roots filled rock that means something fills the album. R.E.M. has stripped away all the studio artifice and gotten back to their roots. From the protest song “Houston” to the anxiety filled “Sing for the Submarine” Accelerate will remind you why you once loved R.E.M. if you’re love has waned.
“Supernatural Superserious”, the first single from the CD, is a very radio friendly track that did well when it was originally released in February. “Until the Day is Done” has Stipe bemoaning the fate of America under the Bush administration. As you would expect, it’s a somber ballad. Most of the album espouses Stipe’s politics and his unhappiness with the current state of affairs, including how FEMA screwed up Hurricane Katrina relief efforts (Hurricane). Until you hit the closing number, “I’m Gonna DJ”. Reminiscent to “Radio Music”, “I’m Gonna DJ” is a wacky fun piece that just rocks out.
If you’ve been burned in the past with substandard R.E.M. releases, Accelerate will renew your faith in the band. It’s the pure rock greatness that made me fall in love with them in college. How weird is it that R.E.M. and their sister band The B-52’s both have new albums out at the same time. It’s the early 90’s have returned. All I need is a new Stone Temple Pilots CD and I’m in heaven. I don’t know where R.E.M. has been; I’m just glad they’re back.
There are R.E.M. fans that love the IRS years and think the Warner years are ok. There are those that are the opposite. And then there’s me. I love everything, but I prefer the first four albums of the Warner years. Green, Out of Time, AFTP and Monster are some of the greatest albums ever. EVER. I loved NAIHi-Fi, Up and Reveal as well, but they didn’t stay with me as much as the previous albums did. Around The Sun took a REALLY long time to grow on me because it just seemed too wimpy. Beautiful and melodic, but wimpy. But Accelerate certainly compensates for that. I was afraid they’d turn into p*ssies like U2 did after Pop, but they didn’t and thank God. I would have liked a slightly longer album, but I’m far too enamored of this album to let that get me down.