REM - UP

• WEA / Warner Brothers

REM’s new album, Up, is quite a diversion from their previous records, and not just because the drum tracks are mechanical. Michael Stipe seems to have taken a sentimentality drug because REM’s usually hard rocking, forget-about-you-semi-political lyrics have all but vanished into songs about lost loves and wasted time, with a few notable exceptions. The first song, Airportman, while a little dull musically, is one of the most poetic songs on the album and this song is quickly followed by the powerful Lotus, which is the most rocking song on the album by far. Lotus has a drum machine on it, but it is well programmed and covered well by the other musicians. Daysleeper, the first single, is a sweetly sentimental song that is slightly reminiscent of REM’s earlier nostalgic songs and is also very good in it’s own right. The most talked about song on the album, Sad Professor, has some good lines (nobody likes a drunk) and is quite obviously Michael Stipe telling us about his life, and still pulls itself off as okay. Musically, this album seems to draw more from Pink Floyd than any other group current. Don’t expect the straight cut alternative rock that has made REM famous; on this record the songs [are] slower, more electronic and a little on the trippy side. Maybe they’re selling out a little, but I think that this album is a good buy for people who like REM or who are just looking for a good alternative album.

- Joe McGann

Review by Aram at:  Frames Per Second

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