| At this stage in a band's career a Mojo front cover would seem more likely than actually getting their old mojo back. And at 14 albums young, REM's longevity had been taken as a byword for pale compliance--in spite of a melodic obedience, last album Around the Sun lacked the emotional vigour of their key works and was presumed by many to be no more than a footnote in their decline. Here then is where they break all the rules. Accelerate is exceptionally loyal to its title and marks a hefty return to their Document-era heyday, when their Byrdsian post-punk was beefed up to suit the arenas they were then beginning to fill. There's even a new "end of the world" song to back up that assertion--the excitable Stooges/B52s love-in "I'm Gonna DJ" ("Death is pretty final/I'm collecting vinyl/I'm gonna DJ at the end of the world!"). Michael Stipe's voice splinters scattered emotional punctuation, Mike Mills is as ever REM's secret weapon, drilling out bass-lines like rapid CPR and achieving more with a single backing vocal than many lead singers manage over a whole album, while Peter Buck deals out memorable guitar twists a-go-go evoking amongst others The Who, The Small Faces and Neil Young. To summon a cliché, this really does sound like a band--and a band half their age at that--playing live in a room, packed full of all the fire and nuances needed to feel at home in a club or the stadiums they now more regularly inhabit. --James Berry |
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