R.E.M. - Collapse Into Now

Everyone knows at least a couple of R.E.M. songs. Their alternative rock style treads a fine line somewhere in the void between pop and rock, while incorporating folk elements. Their unique position in the musical spectrum allows them to appeal to a monumental number of listeners, although despite this they’ve almost slipped under the radar a couple of times in their thirty-year career. Collapse Into Now is R.E.M.’s attempt to recapture the magic of previous albums while propelling the band in a new direction.

Unfortunately it doesn’t start particularly well. The opening track ‘Discoverer’ begins with a spot-on instrumental section, with some stellar overlapping guitar riffs. However, when front man Michael Stipe’s vocals kick in, the track takes a decidedly more straightforward direction, ditching the sparkling opening riff and presenting the listener with a decidedly forgettable verse. The pre-chorus feels muddled and the chorus itself fails to excite.

At this point I was feeling less than hopeful about Collapse Into Now. Thankfully, as ‘Discoverer’ breathes its last, ‘All the Best’ suddenly launches into its far more energetic rhythm. This time, Stipe’s vocals ride a wave of fuzzy guitar work and a sublime bass riff, driven forward by the urgency of the song’s enthusiastic drums. The vocals and instrumentation are far more connected than in the disappointing opener, creating a more cohesive piece and providing what is easily one of the early highlights of the album.

If ‘All the Best’ is a step in the right direction, track three ‘Überlin’ really hammers the point home. Peter Buck’s mandolin makes a welcome return in this down-tempo, dream-like tune, evoking past songs like ‘Drive’, and of course ‘Losing My Religion’. While ‘Überlin’ fails to hit the dizzying highs of the latter, its guitar interplay and wonderful soaring chorus secure it a place among some of the band’s best. It even retains R.E.M.’s tradition of having slightly barmy lyrics with Stipe’s chanting of "I am flying on a star into a meteor tonight."

Of course, this eccentricity is bested later by the song ‘Alligator_aviator_autopilot_antimatter’ which has the rhyme “I feel like an alligator / coming up the escalator.” Other album highlights include the smooth vocal melodies of ‘It Happened Today’ and the crunching, distorted chords of ‘Mine Smell Like Honey’. Ultimately, the album’s biggest strength is its variety; from the whimsical accordion on ‘Oh My Heart’ to the relaxed piano on the opening of ‘Walk it Back’, I was constantly being surprised by what new element each successive song on the album would bring. Despite this, no song feels out of place or incongruous: each plays its role to propel the album to excellence.

This variety, however, is also the album’s biggest weakness. Each track on Collapse Into Now is a part of a beautiful whole, but there is no one song which is truly incredible in its own right. There’s no ‘Losing My Religion’ or ‘Everybody Hurts’, and when listened to in isolation, none of the songs quite reach the brilliance of some of R.E.M.’s best songs. That said, when viewed as a whole, Collapse Into Now is an excellent album and a great experience which is certainly worthy of R.E.M.’s previous successes. Just don’t expect to have a new favourite song when you’ve finished listening to it.

★★★★☆

Like this? Try David Bowie, The Beach Boys or Leonard Cohen

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