Albums to watch

Collapse Into Now

R.E.M.

Collapse Into Now

Fifteenth studio album from the veteran Athens, Georgia alt.rock trio

ADM rating[?]

7.0

Label
Warner Bros.
UK Release date
07/02/2011
US Release date
08/02/2011
  1. 8.5 |   BBC

    It’s as varied and deep as previous R.E.M. classics. It’s not epochal like Automatic for the People, but it can’t be. These are different times
    Read Review

  2. 8.3 |   A.V. Club

    Another very good album from a band that’s getting back into the habit of making them
    Read Review

  3. 8.0 |   State

    Thankfully, for the first time in a long time, R.E.M. are happy to be themselves
    Read Review

  4. 8.0 |   The Guardian

    Collapse Into Now isn't groundbreaking, but feeling comfortable in their old skin has produced REM's best effort in years
    Read Review

  5. 8.0 |   Evening Standard

    The most intriguing new direction is signposted on Blue, an urgent Stipe monologue over layers of guitar and keyboards, beautifully counterpointed by Patti Smith's haunting vocal
    Read Review

  6. 8.0 |   BBC

    As deep as previous R.E.M. classics, and perhaps their best post-Bill Berry LP
    Read Review

  7. 8.0 |   Rave Magazine

    A worthy addition to their legacy
    Read Review

  8. 8.0 |   Spin

    Sounds like a familiar friend - reliable in all the best ways, but still capable of quietly insinuating surprises
    Read Review

  9. 8.0 |   Rolling Stone

    They sound like they'd rather be a band than a legend, which must be why they keep pushing on
    Read Review

  10. 8.0 |   Scotland on Sunday

    R.E.M. have been a huge influence on most rock guitar bands since their debut single Radio Free Europe three decades ago. Nothing has changed
    Read Review

  11. 8.0 |   Blurt

    The now-ness is simply about shaking loose the head fuzz that marked their last 15 years
    Read Review

  12. 8.0 |   Under The Radar

    You get the sense that you're listening to a legendary band utterly revitalized, operating at the peak of their formidable powers
    Read Review

  13. 8.0 |   No Ripcord

    Pure sonic goodness
    Read Review

  14. 8.0 |   AU Review

    Given time, these songs stand proudly with R.E.M.’s Nineties output, proud and hopeful at the same time
    Read Review

  15. 8.0 |   The Fly

    Michael Stipe hasn’t sounded this confident or energised in years
    Read Review

  16. 8.0 |   Entertainment.ie

    Sound every bit as good as they did at the peak of their career
    Read Review

  17. 8.0 |   FasterLouder

    Of the four albums the band has released this century, it’s Collapse Into Now that stands as the finest of them
    Read Review

  18. 8.0 |   Consequence Of Sound

    With Collapse Into Now, R.E.M. might have discovered they’re still vital, still relevant
    Read Review

  19. 7.7 |   Beats Per Minute

    What makes Collapse Into Now so satisfying is that it isn’t a return to form so much as a realization that the band R.E.M. are now isn’t necessarily a bad thing to be
    Read Review

  20. 7.0 |   musicOMH

    A fine album, and one that's far better than any band together for three decades has any right to be
    Read Review

  21. 6.8 |   Pitchfork

    Sounds like the work of a band caught between old habits and new adventures
    Read Review

  22. 6.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    Like all of R.E.M.'s most recent albums, Collapse Into Now is flawed; a reflection, I’m speculating, on the fact that that band’s working process is now flawed
    Read Review

  23. 6.0 |   The Digital Fix

    As easy as it is to be disappointed by the comparative flaws of Collapse Into Now, it still exudes a buoyant air
    Read Review

  24. 6.0 |   PopMatters

    Ultimately an OK rock record
    Read Review

  25. 6.0 |   Independent on Sunday

    It's archetypal R.E.M
    Read Review

  26. 6.0 |   Daily Telegraph

    It sounds at once mature and commanding, but is undermined by over-familiar chord sequences and vocal ticks
    Read Review

  27. 6.0 |   Clash

    It’s good. But it’s no ‘Reckoning’. Or ‘Document’. Or ‘Automatic For The People’. Or...
    Read Review

  28. 6.0 |   Daily Telegraph

    Undermined by overfamiliar chord sequences and vocal ticks
    Read Review

  29. 6.0 |   Mojo

    Several songs here capture the mood -if not quite the majesty - of the band's mid-period masterpiece Automatic For The People. Print edition only

  30. 6.0 |   Uncut

    The syndrome of diminishing returns must be at least as arduous for the band as it is for the listener
    Read Review

  31. 5.0 |   Slant Magazine

    It sounds like an R.E.M. album, even when the actual content of the songs and the performances falls well short of the band's peaks
    Read Review

  32. 5.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    Aimless and unfocused
    Read Review

  33. 4.0 |   NME

    New music for people who don't like new music. Print edition only

  34. 4.0 |   Q

    Increasingly, you wonder: is this now as good as it gets? Print edition only


blog comments powered by Disqus

Watch it

Roll over video for more options

Hear it

Latest Reviews

More reviews