Review: R.E.M. “Accelerate”
Last year at this time, we were sitting around complaining about the lack of quality new music. Now all of a sudden, R.E.M.’s 14th studio album, Accelerate, arrives and it promises to kick these alt-rock veterans into a new phase of their popularity. With snarling guitars and hooks at every turn, Accelerate takes the listener on a fast (35 minutes) ride through 11 high-octane songs that Michael Stipe and Co. have obviously built for speed. “Supernatural Superstitious” reminds one of everyone we ever liked about R.E.M. It’s almost a textbook tune from this band – no wonder it’s the first single (do we still do that in this day and age?) from the album. “Hollow Man” takes us deep into Pearl Jam territory, but it’s still terrific as it turns its mournful angst into a speedy ride atop Peter Buck’s jangly guitars. “Houston” revisits the Hurricane Katrina tragedy as displaced to the west and “Man-Sized Wreath” is another fine rocker. “I’m Gonna DJ” closes the album with the promise, “I’m gonna DJ at the end of the world!” As we know it, I am sure. Like Springsteen’s Magic, the new R.E.M. album is a return to form as well as a catalog of the band’s best moments. But hey, it rocks, and it’s a great album to take into the summer.
