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.
That lack of subtlety often found in the lyrics also plagues the music. There are a couple slower moments on the record and they're well placed. Without them, listeners would zone out in much the same way they did on the last three records. That's the irony here; Accelerate is damn near as monotone as the last three records, just in a different way. There is a lot of static on this record, sonically and compositionally. Some of that comes from the band self-consciously refusing to over think things – think of all those famous action sequences where one character tells another not to look down – and some of it has to be laid at the feet of producer Jacknife Lee. Lee assisted U2 on How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb and that is an important connection because I swear there are moments I wanted to shout, "UNOS, DOS, TRES, CATORCE!"
My feelings about this record are still a blurry picture, but the haze is lifting with each listen. Accelerate won't be the first album I reach for when I'm in the mood for R.E.M., but I won't be deleting it from my iPod. It isn't a major achievement but it more than reverses the downward trend of the past three albums and paints the way to a brighter future.
Today, that feels like enough.
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.