EASE DOWN THE ROAD

Unlikely bit of reverie that it may be, I daydream of Peter Buck and Mike Mills showing up at Michael Stipe’s door sometime soon after the failed tour that followed the release of R.E.M.‘s most recent album, 2004’s impressively pathetic Around the Sun. Buck, fire in his eyes, fumbles Stipe into a headlock, rendering him immobile on the front porch, while Mills shoots rubber bands and flips paper footballs at the famously mumbly singer’s famously bald head. In the driveway sits a pickup truck full of electric guitars, all of which Buck threatens to set on fire and roll into the Stipe Mansion unless his old friend Michael agrees to do at least one-and-a-half of two things: 1) fire new age dreamer/producer Pat McCarthy; and 2) finally let Buck and Mills make the rock album R.E.M. fans have been begging for since 1999.

Later, probably in the cafe located in the private art gallery inside Stipe’s house, the three sit down, have a few drinks, arm wrestle and talk about the now long gone good ‘ol days of Bill Berry’s beats. “Let’s make an album that looks and sounds like something a college or indie or art band would make,”Stipe finally says in his deep voice, as if it’s his own idea. “Let’s make something Bill would like.“ Buck shifts awkwardly in his chair, eyebrows raised, snorting at the irony. “Short songs with backing vocals,” chirps Mills, glasses fogged from his steaming caffe¨ macchiato. “Guitars,” barks Buck, “lots of guitar.” “Synths,” adds Stipe before pausing. “Buried synths,” he rescinds, winking at the Peter Gabriel poster on his cafe wall.

Enough dreaming - time to get to bizness. Accelerate, the aptly titled 14th R.E.M. studio album, was recorded, according to Stipe, “faster than anything the band has done in 20 years.” It’s a guitar-filled, somewhat minimalist-minded rock n’ roll album that touches on many of the band’s hallmarks. No lost-but-ambitious McCarthy production on this accelerated slice of edge - nope, not a drop. Producer Jacknife Lee (U2, Green Day) maintains a quiet but steady presence, his production offering a consistency not heard on an R.E.M. album since Automatic for the People. The result is an expertly crafted album that looks and sounds like it belongs on the Employee Picks shelf alongside Spoon and Zumpano albums in hipster record stores - though it’d be filed, genetically speaking, under “influential,” not “influenced.”

“Hollow Man,” one of the album’s many standout tracks, reads almost like a late night memo from Stipe to Mills and Buck: “You had placed your trust in me / I went upside down / I emptied out the room in 30 seconds flat / I can’t believe you held your ground.” Or, maybe, a letter to R.E.M.‘s loyal fans, subconscious as it may be. The truth is, R.E.M. hasn’t been good enough to call themselves R.E.M. for over a decade now, but this album, this guitar-loving indie-pop album, is a gem of a record that even sounds as if it coul’ve been released after the last great R.E.M. album, New Adventures in Hi-Fi.

Despite the wandering failures of their post-Hi-Fi past, R.E.M. are still a strong band who know how to put together strong, memorable pop songs that sound like no one else. The major element of that formula, of course, is Stipe, who sings and writes like no one else. His voice and delivery through Accelerate sound like longtime fans would hope, while Buck - who has always created excellent music, be it with this band, The Minus 5 or Robyn Hitchcock - is as on point as he has been in years, sounding, similar to Stipe’s allure here, exactly like fans hope he would, though maybe a bit louder and hungrier than he’s been - possibly ever. And Mills, sweet lil’ Mills, does what he does best on almost every songs, offering a steady rhythmic core and always memorable backing vocals that border on all-out geeky.

Not to smoke the party out, but don’t get too excited just yet. Accelerate is no Life’s Rich Pageant, Document or Out of Time; it just doesn’t have those incredible moments of artistic depth. Stipe’s phrasing and spitfire delivery, Mills’ backing vocals and Buck’s post-jangle bounce riffs are all finely executed and very familiar, leaving only one real question: Are these nearly written-off legends enjoying themselves while doing what they do best, or simply doing what they have to do to keep their career chugging along? Answer that question for yourself after a couple of accelerated spins and you’ll know if these 11 new songs are ones you’ll live with for years or, good as they are, play just enough to remember those much missed Bill Berry days.