New Adventures In Hi-Fi

In the wake of the raging, guitar-fueled MONSTER, R.E.M. has made an album dominated by disconsolate ballads and acoustic instrumentation. NEW ADVENTURES has a stately, elegiac feel. It's punctuated by a few all-out rockers, but the overall mood is dusky and introspective. Michael Stipe's stream-of-consciousness imagery has developed into an incisive, poetic style of great power and resonance, from the religious overtones of "Undertow" (which reveals a Can influence) to the breathless travelogue of "Departure". more...

The opener, "How the West Was Won And Where It Got Us", sets a dark tone, with an eerie organ backdrop and a mournful piano providing a staccato riff. Punk goddess Patti Smith guests on "E-Bow the Letter", a wordy ramble that finds Stipe questioning, and ultimately denigrating, "this fame thing". A similar theme is explored on "The Wake-Up Bomb", a MONSTERish raveup that attacks celebrity star trips.
NEW ADVENTURES is loaded with musical surprises, including a zippy synthesizer that sparks "Leave", a campy instrumental called "Zither" and various discordant touches throughout. Lyrically and musically, R.E.M. stands its ground throughout, remaining as fresh and innovative as ever.

Rolling Stone (1/23/97, p.44)
- Ranked #4 on Rolling Stone's list of the "Ten Best Albums" of 1996.

Spin (1/97, p.59)
- Ranked #11 on Spin's list of the "20 Best Albums of '96."

Village Voice (2/25/97)
- Ranked #11 in the Village Voice's 1996 Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll.

NME (12/21-28/96, pp.66-67)
- Ranked #16 in NME's 1996 critics' poll.

Entertainment Weekly (12/27/96-1/3/97, p.146)
- Ranked #4 on Entertainment Weekly's list of the "Top 10 Albums And Singles Of 1996."

Rolling Stone (9/19/96, pp.79-80)
- 4.5 Stars (out of 5)
- "...R.E.M.'s most ambitious album to date....there's a sense of spontaneity here that's rarely been heard on an R.E.M. record....a sense of ambition and liberation that R.E.M. haven't displayed since 1985's FABLES OF THE RECONSTRUCTION..."

Spin (10/96, pp.129-131)
- 6 (out of 10)
- "...While the tunes seem banged out, as if the band forced itself to keep having a jammin' good time despite the aneurysms and whatnot, the arrangements are thoroughly tarted up, often by various sidemen. This is a mixed blessing, as NEW ADVENTURES pays greater attention to hip sounds than to happening songs..."

New York Times (9/11/96, p.C13)
- "...a beautiful hodgepodge....Some songs look back at phases of R.E.M.'s career while others suggest new directions....R.E.M. spends half this album experimenting, turning songs into soundscapes with...synthesizers, sitars and bouzouki, Mellotron and Autoharp..."

Q (10/96, pp.166-167)
- 5 Stars (out of 5)
- "...it's easily the most diverse set of tunes R.E.M. have yet chosen to deliver....a seamlessly assembled mix of live performances...soundcheck reditions...'live' studio takes....hits many and varied targets virtually every time."

NME (9/7/96, p.44)
- 8 (out of 10)
- "...one of the most disillusioned albums ever made....Every lyric...is harrowed from a soul so empty all it seems to hear is the echo of its own resignation....It's a litany of trouble beyond despair....not an easy album but...a great one..."

Entertainment Weekly (9/13/96, pp.128-131)
- "...if the arena-designed, occasionally forced MONSTER felt like a midlife crisis, NEW ADVENTURES IN HI-FI finds R.E.M. returning to their joyful idiosyncrasies....not in years has an R.E.M. album showed such breadth..." - Rating: A