ALBUM: REM – Accelerate

REM have freely admitted that they’ve lost it a bit over the last few albums. Their last album, Around the Sun, only sold 300,000 copies, their worst selling record since they were signed to Warner Bros in 1988. The album was criticised for being overproduced, sounded a little tired and stretched. Gone are the days of Green and Automatic for the People – the glory days of REM. Or are they?

REM have a new album, the first in four years, and with it a self-proclaimed change of direction. This new album, Accelerate, sounds more raw – neither over-polished, nor haphazardly thrown together. It was made in ten days, runs at about 34 minutes long, and, you’ll be pleased to hear, is rather good.

It’s immediately apparent that much of the album has a rockier sound than their more recent releases, sounding more like a punchier Monster than an Around the Sun, and no Shiny Happy People to be seen either. There’s the odd exception of course, a selection of tracks which break up the mould a bit. Houston sees the coming together of acoustic guitar, distorted bass and what sounds like a Hammond organ – an unlikely but effective combination. Then there’s Until the Day is Done, a battle-cry ballad marooned in the eye of a storm, and the frankly odd I’m Gonna DJ, hooked onto the end of the record like a bonus track.

It seems, by the way, that REM are jumping on the bandwagon of apocalyptic album themes. In recent interviews, Michael Stipe has described a collapse and makeshift restoration of an apocalyptic world, “propped up with 2x4s and held together with Scotch tape and superglue”. The album, likewise, is cut up, shredded, and the parts cling to each other desperately as the album swings about madly – a collage of old material, made fresh and new and exciting by use of craft knife and Pritt Stick.

The album holds your attention. It has speed, and it has drama, but it’s not a Ramones record – over before you realise it’s started. The songs are punchier sure, and more compact, there are no multiple verses, grandiose intros or mid-song instrumental meanderings – they just don’t need it. REM, it seems, are learning from previous mistakes. The band have revealed that anything they didn’t like was brutally chopped out, so we’re left with just the good bits. It’s as though they’ve taken an album, made a Best Of from the results, and cut out a good 20 minutes in the process.

Accelerate is fast, choppy and unpredictable – a definite return to the band’s indie roots. It still sounds like classic REM, but is somehow raw, new and exciting. This musical acceleration, and the fresh burst of energy that comes with it, could see the band grabbing our attention once more. And about time!
Claire Winter

Friends! Buy a copy here.