Accelerate (R.E.M. album)
Accelerate is the 14th studio album by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on March 31, 2008, in Europe, and on April 1 in North America. Produced with Jacknife Lee, Accelerate was intended as a departure from the 2004 album Around the Sun. R.E.M. previewed most of the album's tracks during a five-night residency at the Olympia Theatre in Dublin, Ireland, and recorded the album in a nine-week schedule.
| Accelerate | ||||
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| Studio album by R.E.M. | ||||
| Released | March 31, 2008 | |||
| Recorded | June–July 2007 | |||
| Studio | Armoury Studios, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Grouse Lodge Studios, County Westmeath, Ireland; and Seney-Stonewall Chapel, Athens, Georgia, United States; additional recording in Olympia Theatre, Dublin, Ireland, and Mike Mills' home in Athens, Georgia | |||
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| Length | 34:39 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Producer | Jacknife Lee and R.E.M. | |||
| R.E.M. chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Accelerate | ||||
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The album was heralded as a return to form for the band, receiving a warm reception from music critics and achieving a 79/100 rating on Metacritic. Reviewers often complimented the aggressive, purposeful sound of the songs, with Q magazine critic Keith Cameron stating that "Accelerate is the sound of a band having enjoyed a good word with themselves—and us." It was their last album to be accompanied by a tour, as the band had decided against touring for their next (and final) album Collapse into Now before disbanding.