I have been an REM fan for years. I caught the bandwagon during the whole “Stand” period and then fell in love as they told me “Everybody Hurts”. When they showed us the Monster, I never hid my face. But two albums came and gone after which I wasn’t all that impressed. Now comes the eagerly awaited Reveal. How will that befit me?
If the opening track, “The Lifting”, was an indication of all to come, I could honestly say I’d be happy, but Reveal doesn’t carry that tune long enough. “The Lifting” wanders in the land of longing, searching for life. Isn’t that what REM has always done best? “I’ve Been High” is more of the previous monotonous tracks that have, in my opinion, been the group’s downfall. It sounds pretty with synthetic strings charming the place up, but justly annoying as you can barely hear Michael Stipe spitting out his soul.
Stipe is dead on as he churns out the precious verses of “All The Way To Reno (You’re Gonna Be A Star)” but when the chorus flies in it’s not a pretty sight. The song has a great riff and a cool bridge, but the chorus ruins it all.
“She Just Wants To Be” is precious. A gorgeous verse and the chorus tumbles and struggles a bit but it catches up to its feet. “Beat A Drum” comes in just in time to save us from a few weak tracks previous. The melody is marked for joy even if it sounds a little on the left of aimless and discouraged.
REM tries in vain to brighten up corners of a somber Reveal with “Imitation Of Life”. It echoes days long past and just can’t muscle up the same verve. REM has always given us albums that helped to invoke sleep. Automatic For The People did this and I really loved that album. Up did the same thing, but that is not a compliment. Reveal is closer to Up than Automatic. It doesn’t boast tracks of epic proportions, nothing even close. I’ve rooted for these guys for a decade; sometimes they make it easy but other times it’s much harder. Reveal finds them missing a little of their soul and a good chunk of their potency.
Reveal means to make something known, but I know nothing more about REM now than I did yesterday. Where is the truth? What is the frequency again?
+ rae gun
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