Accelerate

R.E.M.AccelerateInsupposable bit of reverie that it may be, I daydream of Peter Buck and Mike Mills showing up at Michael Stipe’s door sometime soon after the failed tour that followed the release of R.E.M.’s most recent album, 2004’s impressively pathetic Around the Sun. Buck, fire in his eyes, fumbles Stipe into a headlock, rendering him immobile on the front porch while Mills shoots rubber bands and flips paper footballs at the famously mumbly singer’s famously bald head. In the driveway sits a pickup truck full of electric guitars, all of which Buck threatens to set on fire and roll into the Stipe Mansion unless his old friend Michael agrees to do at least one and a half of two things: 1) fires new age dreamer/producer Pat McCarthy; 2) finally lets Buck and Mills make the rock album their band had been promising for years.

Later, probably in the café located in the private art gallery inside Stipe’s house, the three sit down, have a few drinks, arm wrestle and talk about the now long-gone good ‘ol days of Bill Berry beats. “Lets make an album that looks and sounds like something a college or indie or whatever band would make,” Stipe finally says in his deep voice, as if it’s his own idea. “Lets make something Bill would like.” Buck shifts awkwardly in his chair, eyebrows raised, snorting. “Short songs with backing vocals,” chirps Mills, glasses fogged from his steaming Caffè macchiato. “Guitars,” barks Buck, “lots of guitar.” “Synths,” adds Stipe before pausing. “Burried synths,” he rescinds.

Okay, enough dreaming - time to get to bizness. Accelerate, the aptly titled 14th R.E.M. studio album, was recorded - according to Stipe - faster than anything the band has done in 20 years. It’s a guitar-filled, somewhat minimalist-minded rock n’ roll album that touches on many of the band’s hallmarks. No lost-but-ambitious McCarthy production on this accelerated slice of edge - nope, not a drop. Producer Jacknife Lee (U2, Green Day) maintains a quiet but consistent presence, his production offering a consistency not heard on an R.E.M. album since Automatic for the People. Accelerate is an expertly made album that looks and sounds like it belongs on the “employee picks” shelf alongside Spoon and Zumpano albums in hipster record stores - though it’d be filed, genetically speaking, under “influential,” not “influenced.”

“Hollow Man,” one of Accelerate’s many standout tracks, reads almost like a late night memo from Stipe to Mills and Buck: “You had placed your trust in me / I went upside down / I emptied out the room in 30 seconds flat / I can’t believe you held your ground.” Or, maybe, a letter to R.E.M.’s loyal fans, subconscious as it may be. The truth is, R.E.M. hasn’t been good enough to call themselves R.E.M. for over a decade now, but this album, this guitar-loving indie-pop album, is a gem of a record that even sounds as if it could’ve been released after the last great R.E.M. album, New Adventures in Hi-Fi.

Despite the wandering failures of their post-Hi-Fi past, R.E.M. are still a strong band who know how to put together strong, memorable pop songs that sound like no one else. The major element of that formula, of course, is Stipe, who sings and writes like no one else. His voice and delivery through Accelerate sound like longtime fans would hope, while Buck - who has always created excellent music, be it with this band, the Minus 5 or Robyn Hitchcock - is as on point as he has been in years, sounding - similar to Stipe’s allure here - exactly like fans hope he would, though maybe a bit louder and hungrier than he’s been, possibly ever.

Not to burn the party down, but don’t get too excited just yet - Accelerate is no Life’s Rich Pageant, Document or Out of Time. Stipe’s phrasing and spitfire deliver, Mills’ backing vocals and Buck’s post-jangle bounce riffs are all finely executed and very familiar, leaving only one real question: are these nearly written-off legends enjoying themselves while doing what they do best, or simply doing what they have to do to keep their career chugging along? Answer that question for yourself after a couple of accelerated spins and you’ll know if these 11 new songs are ones you’ll live with or, good as they are, just function as a fleeting reminder of better times.  8/10

Written by G. William Locke