Warner Bros. – Phil Roche

R.E.M. – Collapse Into Now

(Warner)

“If a storm doesn’t kill me, the government will”, sang Michael Stipe on ‘Houston’, from 2008’s excellent return to form, Accelerate. A weary and worn out liberal after two terms of the Bush administration, Stipe hadn’t been as angry, disillusioned and politically engaged on Accelerate since 1987’s Document and 1988’s Green, both of which tore into the Reagan administration.

Fitting, then, that Stipe should now sing “A storm didn’t kill me, the government changed” on ‘Oh My Heart’, taken from R.E.M.’s second consecutive record with Jacknife Lee. Stipe, here, defines himself and R.E.M. as rock’s survivors, but also its chroniclers of social and political change in America. They are, clearly, more at peace with America and, more importantly, with themselves than ever before. Whereas Accelerate saw them return to the spiky, three-minute punk-influenced pop songs that so defined Murmur and Reckoning, Collapse Into Now finds the band tapping into their tradition yet somehow making it feel fresh, vital and new.

The hallmarks are all here; the bridge and chorus from ‘Discoverer’ could easily be ideas that didn’t make the cut on Document, yet Buck’s Eastern-influenced guitar phrase, which bookends the record, is memorable and unlike anything he’s played before. ‘All the Best’ feels like a distant relative of ‘The Wake Up Bomb’ from New Adventures in Hi- Fi while ‘Überlin’ is a serious re-write of ‘Daysleeper’ from 1998’s Up. ‘Everyday is Yours to Win’ finds Stipe in Urban / 21st Century / Existential mode, as per recent records, all of which folds as strong a first side of a record as the band have produced in their 31 years of recording.

The second side opens with ‘Mine Smell Like Honey’, the most joyous, pop-sounding R.E.M. song imaginable. It’s given a very balanced and nuanced mix by Jacknife Lee, making it sound familiar yet wholly new and exciting. The chorus readily recalls ‘Bad Day’ and ‘It’s the End…’ and is more R.E.M. than R.E.M. itself. By contrast, ‘Walk it Back’ is a slow-tempo, piano-led tune, leading the listener to imagine what 2004’s career nadir, Around the Sun, might have sounded like had the band had the heart and energy to finish and mix it with care.

It’s then back to the stomping mode with ‘Alligator_Aviator_Autopilot_Antimatter’ with backing vocals courtesy of Patti Smith and Peter Buck. It’s the combination of Stipe’s playful lyrics, urgent delivery and Buck’s riff-heavy yet jangly guitar that makes this, and the R.E.M. sound, what it is. Meanwhile ‘Me, Marlon Brando, Marlon Brando and I’ finds Stipe engaging with Pop Culture as vividly as he did on 1994’s Monster, but with the slow burning, roots feel that so definedAutomatic for the People. ‘Blue’, meanwhile, sees the band ending the record in a natural form. In an ocean of reverb, distortion and acoustic guitar, Stipe’s rhapsodic delivery, coupled with his post-modern, epistolic lyrics, eases through a distorted mic and, backed by his heroine, Patti Smith, finds him signing off with ‘20th Century, collapse into now’.

What makes Collapse Into Now such a triumph is its authors’ engagement with their sound, their mythology and their knack for being able to make it feel like a record by an up and coming band. The form of the album is one of a band that have realised that there are many dimensions to their sound and songs. Thankfully, for the first time in a long time, R.E.M. are happy to be themselves.

Originally published on State.ie

Jenny & Johnny - I'm Having Fun, Now — Jenny & Johnny – I’m Having Fun Now

(Warners)

The efforts by male and female duos in recent years- Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan, She & Him, and now Jenny and Johnny- have seen an oft neglected form back in vogue; quirky and gimmicky though it may seem. A couple off- stage, the fluid chemistry between Rilo Kiley front woman Jenny Lewis and Scottish-American singer-songwriter Johnathan Rice is convincing and produces hummable melodies and memorable harmonies. Lewis, in part, leaves the country and folk roots of her excellent solo debut, Rabbit Fur Coat, behind and taps into her indie- pop roots through Rice. His versatile vocals and range can be haunting, angelic and aggressive (sometimes all at once), which work well against Lewis’ fine, piercing vocals that recall country music’s Great Dames: Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Loretta Lynn.

At the core of I’m Having Fun Now is, as the title implies, two friends and lovers going through their record collection and discovering what pop music has influenced them both. Opener ‘Scissors Runner’ is a perfect example of the definite influence of 80’s and 90’s indie pop music, recalling both Reckoning- era R.E.M.’s ‘Second Guessing’ and The Lemonheads’ ‘Alison’s Starting to Happen’ from ‘It’s a Shame About Ray’. ‘Just Like Zeus’ begins with the drone of guitars so reminiscent Of The Jesus and Mary Chain but quickly blends with the country pop that so defines the record.

Like many male/female duo records, the lyrics are often informed by gender politics and in ‘My Pet Snakes’ Lewis bashes female sell-outs with the ribald humor of Alex Turner (“I don’t believe in sucking my way to the top’). Such brash, sweeping statements are countered by the beautiful, dreamy Americana of ‘Switchblade’, led by Jonathan Rice and indicative of his solo work- particularly Trouble is Real. It’s followed by the Rilo Kiley- esque ‘Big Wave’, the flagship single of the record. Covering the current economic crisis, it doesn’t take an unusual angle or offer new insight into the situation or the lives of those affected, as a John Prine or Conor Oberst song would. Although the melody and harmonies are infectious, the lyrics (“And we save our money in good faith/ and we work hard for a living wage/ but still the banks got a break”) sounds like trite, teenage poetry. The final track, ‘Committed’, is a rollicking country- rock tune that, although too close for comfort to Billy Ray Cyrus’ ‘Achy Breaky Heart’, is a hilarious run through recent events in America (For God and Country/ For Michael Jackson’s monkey).

Fans of Bright Eyes, Rilo Kiley and many other acts associated with Saddle Creek records will, inevitably, love this very companionable album that connects with contemporary America through a love of old records. A recording chemistry that no-one can fake and contagious harmonies that you’ll be singing for weeks on end. Most of all, it’s great fun.

Originally published on State.ie