There’s a song here entitled It Happened Today featuring Eddie Vedder. It’s a sing-a-long of sorts, though lyrics lead way to a wordless chant about a third of the way in. There are rock guitars, stomping drums and what sounds like rusty church tambourines. It’s a marvel that exudes the kind of folky party vibe you haven’t heard from REM in a long time and I wish the other melodies on this album were as uplifting.

This is their best album since Reveal; it’s peppier than Around The Sun and easier on the ears than Accelerate; but half of its songs fall short at the chorus, where melody counts the most. Oh My Heart, on which the band sound like old men having heart attacks, is a grower, but Michael Stipe yelling “Discoverer” over and over again sounds silly and Andre 3000 sang “Hey Ya”; Every Day Is Yours To Win; better years ago.

ÜBerlin flies high, thanks mostly to Mike Mills harmonizing Michael Stipe’s vocals in the background; a technique the band should make use of a lot more often. Blue, on which Stipe talks his poetry instead of singing it, is a cool showcase for Patti Smith, but, even with an escalator at her feet, Peaches can’t help lift Alligator Aviator Autopilot Antimatter and Mine Smell Like Honey is more bitter than sweet.

There aren’t any major musical calamities. Nothing even comes close to countering It Happened Today on the low end of the spectrum. It’s just that, as is the case with REM’s last few albums, there are simply too many mediocre songs. I guess that gives some unintentional meaning to the Now bit. The band is merely another group of aging rock stars trying, only almost successfully, to revive their former glory.

my rating : 3 of 5

2011