Does anybody else get the impression that Michael Stipe was replaced with a bald and annoying imposter at some point? There’s just no continuity between the brooding weirdo with awesome hair who moaned through “So. Central Rain (I’m Sorry)” in 1984, and that idiot chicken-dancing in the “Shiny Happy People” video seven years later. Not to mention the guy in silver pants inquiring about Kenneth’s frequency not long after that. And did anybody actually get through Reveal, or Emulsify, or Languish, or whatever the hell those last two dozen R.E.M. albums were called? Me neither. By then, even the most ardent supporters had to admit that the former giants had gone from Chronic Town to plain old chronic.

So maybe this is just a very long-awaited burst of nostalgic affection from somebody who pored over 1983’s Murmur as though it might contain the secrets of life itself, but Accelerate is a blast. It might even be enough to finally cauterize the memory of “Everybody Hurts” or the ever-depressing sight of Michael “Hollywood” Stipe running around dismantling every bit of mystery that made him and his band so beguiling in the first place. Kicking off with the high-test jangle-versus-crunch of “Living Well Is the Best Revenge” (think “These Days” from Lifes Rich Pageant, but angry), this reconstructed monster slams melodically rich guitar rock down your gullet, stopping only for some gorgeous electric folk in “Until the Day Is Done” and the sonically weirder slow-motion stomp of “Houston”. Thirty-four minutes later, it all ends with a thrillingly snarky two-minute kiss-off called “I’m Gonna DJ”. In all cases, there’s no waste here, and Accelerate has made at least one former fan very happy (but not shiny).

Georgia Straight, April 2008