R.E.M. Collapse Into Now

It's hard to imagine any band other than R.E.M. that could be capable of bringing a guest list including Eddie Vedder, Patti Smith, and Peaches into the studio for their new album. That disparate crew of vocalists does indeed lend its talents to the band's 15th batch of tracks, Collapse Into Now, ensuring that the record will be anything but homogeneous-sounding. The band's own comments about the album similarly implied that they'd be painting with a wider palette of musical colors this time around than they have been in the recent past, cutting a combination of straight-ahead rockers and more atmospheric, expansive tracks to make Collapse Into Now a multi-faceted aural experience.

Abstract by Jim Allen