R.E.M.

R.E.M.’s latest album, and first studio record since 2004’s Around the Sun, delivers on the promise to be a return to form, but still falls short of the band’s former greatness. The title cut, “Supernatural Superserious,” along with “Hollow Man” and “Living Well Is the Best Revenge” are the closest the band has come to its former greatness since the ’90s. As pleasing as some of the new songs are, however, they might not be enough to draw a younger audience to the band. At the same time, this is a group that wants very much to revisit its origins in ’80s indie pop but can’t quite manage the trick. Accelerate is certainly better than the last few records, but R.E.M. hasn’t been the same since drummer Bill Berry left in 1997. Instead of Monster we get Munster. It’s Murmur without the drummer. And Automatic for the People has become auto music for the iPod.