{mosimage}Michael Stipe and his band REM had not released a studio album since 2004, but it was worthy to wait!
The guys from Athens, Georgia (not Greece) are back, and in excellent health. From the first ravaging song Living Well Is the Best Revenge, with a demolishing bass and heavy guitar riffs, REM shows that its period of auto-reflection is past, and it is about time to come back to the roots of Out of time, Automatic for The People or Monster: direct songs, politically involved but more “light” to listen to, with a good doses of speed (nevertheless the 11 tracks are compressed in just 34 minutes of a certainly resounding album).
Many winks to their old albums in the style, and Stipe in excellent shape on the vocals, transmitting a refreshing spirit in tracks like Supernatural Superserious (the first single of the album) or Hollow Man that reminds that light spirit involved in old classics like Shiny Happy People. It is great to have Buck, Mills and Stipe back with a solid record that sounds, if not better than ever, at least as good as a decade ago. A great comeback.
Rating 4/5.