R.E.M.
Collapse Into Now
Warner
About half of the album follows suit, sometimes with winning abandon, such as the garage rock of Alligator Aviator Autopilot or the soaring Mine Smell Like Honey.
But what makes Collapse Into Now the best R.E.M. album since drummer Bill Berry left is its breadth and familiarity. The trio doesn't just look back to Monster; they remember Automatic for the People.
There's plenty of Peter Buck's mandolin and acoustic jangle, Mike Mills' harmony vocals, and Michael Stipe's soberly beautiful baritone (but with little of his distracting self-importance).
"This is my time and I am thrilled to be alive," Stipe states in Blue, which also features Patti Smith.
R.E.M.'s time was in the first half of its 30-year career, but Collapse Into Now sounds thrilling now.
