Accelerate clocks in at a scant 34 minutes spread over 11 songs. It's fast-paced, beginning and ending before you realize. The songs with hooks have enough life and energy to be remembered when the record is over; mercifully, those without them are over quick.
The title track might be the best thing on this record. The propulsive sounds of paranoia are delivered tight like a fist. "Living Well is the Best Revenge" is the first cousin of "Life and How to Live It" by title, the first cousin of "Begin the Begin" as far as riffs go. What Stipe's vocal lacks in variation is more than made up for in passion; he spits the lyrics at hypersonic speed with a visceral intensity. "Mr. Richards" lacks a killer chorus but has a great bounce. "Hollow Man" is the emotional center of the record and not only rates among the best R.E.M. songs of the decade but almost reaches the glorious highs of the band at their best. "Sing For The Submarine" is the jangle moment on the record, coming closest to recapturing the '80s I.R.S. sound. It makes allusions to "electron blue" and "feeling gravity's pull," two fun little inside jokes for dedicated fans, perhaps.
Speaking of the lyrics, we have this breaking news story. This just in: Michael Stipe doesn't like the Bush Administration or the Republican Party. Hey, Michael, we got the memo. I heard "Bad Day" on the In Time compilation. I suffered through all of Around The Sun, so I heard "I Wanted to Be Wrong" and "Final Straw." I got the point. Can't we just… Move On?
It's not just the politics that plague the lyrics; it's Stipe's frustrating tendency to overwrite. Early in the band's career, his mumbling was indecipherable, his lyrics impenetrable. He grew as a writer and a vocalist and with that growth came some fantastic, classic songs. Unfortunately that growth has also been a magnifying glass for Stipe's hubris, yielding some embarrassing results. He's at his best when he doesn't spell it all out, and that isn't often enough on Accelerate.
Article comments
1 - El Bicho
Good review. I guess I am in the minority because I still like Monster. Certainly not typical R.E.M., but I don't hold that against it. I was going to see them in concert, but they are at the Hollywood Bowl on a weeknight and I am already going there twice that week to take the wife to see Police/E Costello and also The Cure.
2 - Glen Boyd
I still have to hear this, but this review describes pretty well what I am expecting once I do. All the second coming hype is something I figured it was doubtful this could live up to. Like you more or less say though, a return to form works just fine for now.
-Glen
3 - Josh Hathaway
Yeah, EL B, I had to trim part of the review; the part where I admit that after I fell out of love with Monster I came back around and actually like quite a bit of it. I don't think it's a great album, but it's pretty good and there are days it really fits the bill for me. That part of the story is going up on Fanboy as a companion piece.
11 got GREAT seats to the Atlanta show and he is stoked.
Thanks for the read and comment, Iguana Glen. You should definitely hear it. You'll like it more than you may think. Just have reasonable expectations and it will be good to you.
4 - Eric Whelchel
Nice review. I agree pretty much across the board. I've listened to it about a dozen times and I'm starting to get a little bored with some of the songs.
I think it might be another Monster in the making...
5 - Josh Hathaway
Thanks for the comment, Eric. I actually like Monster which is something I originally covered in this review until I had to cut it to keep the length reasonable (now covered at Fanboy. I like it but I don't love it and that's kind of how I feel about Accelerate. It's a valid work but not an essential chapter in the story. I'm hoping it's a transitional record that leads them back to playing to their full set of strengths on future records.