Artist: R.E.M.
Album: Collapse Into Now
Release Date: March 8
Label: Warner Bros.
Grade: A
Collapse Into Now, the 15th album from R.E.M., is one of the strongest efforts of the band's career. Featuring 12 tightly-packed tunes, this album will captivate listeners from start to finish.
The band's last album, 2008's Accelerate, was one of its hardest-rocking efforts in years, and that theme continues on Collapse Into Now. Many of these songs feature the jangly guitar and catchy choruses that the band has become known for over the years.
The ceremonies begin with "Discoverer," a driving number that features guitarist Peter Buck. The number is similar to Accelerate's "Living Well Is The Best Revenge," but it wouldn't have been out of place on 1986's Life's Rich Pageant. The song features R.E.M. at its loudest and its best.
Not all the songs, however, are rockers. R.E.M. has always been able to crank out great ballads, and Collapse Into Now is no exception. This album features some of the most beautiful songs the band has ever released.
Numbers such as "Walk It Back" and the exquisite "Uberlin" feature the catharsis of Michael Stipe in its finest form. Both of them rank among the best songs the band has ever composed.
Equally strong is "Oh My Heart," which continues the harrowing story of a Hurricane Katrina exile, which began with the track "Houston," off of Accelerate. The song shows that Stipe can handle an emotionally complex matter such as this with sensitivity and sincerity.
There's not much to complain about here. This is a brilliant album, and it proves that R.E.M.'s muse has not disappeared after all these years. They are as passionate and resonant as ever before.
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