REM - 'Man-Sized Wreath'
It's always slightly embarrassing when your parents rock out in public, right? Especially when they are clearly the kind of people who have mellowed with age, I'm not talking about Slayer or Ozzy Osbourne here. We're all kind of used to the idea that the loud stuff is for you rowdy kids, and the quieter, more thoughtful and polished stuff is for Radio 2. But what happens when a confirmed Radio 2-type soft-rock act discovers the volume control, the distortion pedal, and the rejuvinating qualities of drinking Red Bull at high speed and jumping off the sofa?
Well, it's messy, I can tell you that. But is it good messy, bad messy, or just-plain-wrong messy?
Well, the correct answer is 'all of the above'. For a band who have recorded some startling music, REM are often very good at being dull, so it's nice to hear them with a bit of fire in their bellies for a change. I'd be reluctant to repeat the music press claim that the songs the band are making now are as good as the stuff they put out in their late '80s-early '90s peak period, partly because re-hashing 'What's The Frequency, Kenneth?' isn't necessarily proof of an artistic rebirth, and partly because they aren't.
But they're not all bad either. You can't be too hard on a song in which the singer ends every line in the verses with the word "OW!", especially when he's NOT trying to sound like James Brown. And the band do have a way with cascading backing vocals which is really pretty.
It's just a shame the rebirth of REM didn't involve the kind of murky mysterious pop they used to be able to churn out in their sleep (pun intended). I mean, if Michael Stipe wanted to revisit an era in his band's history when they were still capable of astonishing feats, why not start at the beginning again with 'Murmur'?
And if they claim they're different people now and why should they repeat themselves, why are they repeating themselves? EH? I WANT TO KNOW...WHY?
Sorry. That'll be the Red Bull talking...
Download: Out now
CD Released: August 11th
(Fraser McAlpine)
PS: Or to put it another way, the way has... "['Man-Sized Wreath'] sounds more like an B-side from Green than a first-rate, new single."
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