R.E.M. revved

The Monster’s Revenge!

If only R.E.M. had chosen that title for its latest album Accelerate. I have long contended that the band’s 1994 album Monster, while not one of the group’s best, is nevertheless grossly underrated – an experiment in grunge and glam with big, loud riffs and sleazy sexual innuendo. Critics dismissed Monster as an attempt to cash in on the “Seattle sound” and as a letdown following the melancholy and oh-so-painfully-serious masterpiece Automatic For The People.

The result: R.E.M.’s albums following Monster were progressively slower, duller and more indulgent – as far from rocking as they could get (the loss of original drummer Bill Berry kicked this trend into overdrive). Thus, it’s a sweet bit of irony that now that R.E.M. has cranked its amps back up, critics are hailing the result as a glorious return to form.

Not that Accelerate is a Monster rehash. Rather, it represents sort of a hybrid between Monster’s aggression and R.E.M.’s upbeat, bouncy rock from its ’80s heyday. As an artistic statement, it’s not as bold as Monster – but it is generally better. Sadly, the sleaze has been replaced by somewhat pedestrian political sloganeering – can’t have everything, I guess.

Accelerate boasts a roughly 2:1 killer-to-filler ratio with most of the filler being not too bad, and some of the killer being absolutely stunning. The songs “Living Well Is The Best Revenge,” “Supernatural Superserious” and “Hollow Man” are R.E.M.’s signature jangle pop on speed – its hooks and choruses sweeping the listener up into sing-along Nirvana.

Meanwhile, on the weaker end of the spectrum, the album loses gas in its second half with the tepid trio of “Until The Day Is Done,” “Mr. Richards” and “Sing For The Submarine” – and suffers its only serious embarrassment with the final track “I’m Gonna DJ” (opening lyrics: “Death is pretty final / I’m collectin’ vinyl / I’m gonna DJ at the end of the world!”). The rest is solid and enjoyable, if unspectacular.
Still, Accelerate is the most fun R.E.M. release in 20 years. While it won’t displace the band’s ’80s classics, fans should welcome this new monster with open arms.