R.E.M. Lifes Rich Pageant

R.E.M. Album Reviews

R.E.M. emerged in the wake of punk from Athens, Georgia, and started their career as an insular Indie band, with cryptic albums that enjoyed a cult following. But gradually they beefed up their sound, experienced airplay, signed up to a major label, and became one of the most successful bands in the world.

More than most bands, all four members of R.E.M. were important – Michael Stipe was the most recognisable figure as the front-man and lyricist, and his voice was distinctive and adaptable. Guitarist Peter Buck gave them their signature sound with his pretty arpeggiated guitar, which was always compared to Roger McGuinn’s work in The Byrds. Along with Buck, the rhythm section contributed heavily to writing the band’s music. Mike Mills’ harmony vocals and melodic bass lines were also an important part of the ensemble sound, while drummer Bill Berry provided a solid backbeat and contributed the music for some of the band’s best-known songs like ‘Man On The Moon’ and ‘Everybody Hurts’.

Bill Berry left the band before 1998’s Up; losing a member of the original quartet disturbed their peculiar synergy and they were never quite the same. They arguably diminished their legacy by outstaying their welcome.

R.E.M.’s five albums for IRS Records are all very strong; albums like Murmur and Lifes Rich Pageant are classics of 1980s college rock. While their major label albums were less consistent, all of their 1990s albums have some very strong material, and they produced one very strong album with 1992’s acoustic and gloomy Automatic for the People. Their 1990s catalogue is also notably more diverse than their work in the 1980s.

R.E.M. Album Reviews

Chronic Town | Murmur | Reckoning | Fables of the Reconstruction | Lifes Rich Pageant | Document | Green | Out Of Time | Automatic for the People | Monster | New Adventures in Hi Fi | Up | Reveal | Around The Sun | Accelerate | Collapse Into Now | Hindu Love Gods

Favourite Album: Lifes Rich Pageant
Overlooked Gem: Chronic Town

Chronic Town (EP)

R.E.M. Chronic Town

1982, 8/10
R.E.M.’s debut album Murmur, released in 1983, was the product of an idiosyncratic band with their distinctive sound fully honed. It makes more sense in the context of this excellent debut EP, where the band’s sound is fully formed. The material isn’t as memorable as the songs on their debut, but more energetic. Michael Stipe already has his charismatic mumble, Mike Mills provides melodic bass lines and backing vocals, Bill Berry plays a steady backbeat, and Peter Buck’s guitar is distinctive without being overbearing – the band as a whole sounds like a hybrid of The Byrds and The Velvet Underground, with a dose of Southern USA eccentricity.

At only 5 songs, and 20 minutes, Chronic Town doesn’t quite rank among the band’s best albums. The most accomplished song is ‘Wolves, Lower’, full of ringing guitar hooks and memorable vocal lines, while ‘Gardening At Night’ is melodic and pretty. Mike Mills’ backing vocals provide the hook for ‘Carnival Of Sorts (Boxcars)’.

R.E.M.’s initial albums are more accessible than this EP, but if you love them it’s certainly worth going back to hear the group’s sound almost fully developed on Chronic Town.


Murmur

R.E.M. Murmur

1983, 9.5/10
My father liked to tell the story of a Scottish folk singer who earned respect for his precise enunciation; this is the exact opposite of Michael Stipe’s vocal performance on Murmur where the title refers to his virtual incomprehensibility. R.E.M.’s debut album is an absolute critic’s favourite, and it’s not difficult to see why; the group already had their entire sound figured out, and they’d only get more mainstream and less interesting. The key R.E.M. elements are recognisable on Murmur; Michael Stipe’s arty and cryptic lyrics, Peter Buck’s jangly guitars and Mike Mill’s harmonies are all present.

The opening ‘Radio Free Europe’, with a surprisingly dance-able beat, was a surprise minor hit. The remainder of Murmur, however, is moody and more organic, more typical of the group’s early style. The piano-led ‘A Perfect Circle’ and the piano infused ‘Shaking Through’ are particularly pretty, while ‘West of the Fields’ (which sounds like “Wezstzofields” after Stipe’s tonsils get tangled in it) is an appropriate ending, climactic but not losing the rest of the album’s subtlety. Discounting the irritatingly straightforward ‘We Walk’, which is out of place on an otherwise subtle album, Murmur is a flawless debut.

Murmur is a quintessential statement for R.E.M., and there are plenty of fans who would argue that they never bettered their first full-length album.


Reckoning

R.E.M. Reckoning

1984, 8/10
Reckoning is usually ranked among R.E.M.’s elite albums, but to me it’s a solid entry in their excellent early catalogue. The dour Indie folk of Murmur has already altered somewhat, and the group are pursuing a more conventional college rock sound. Reckoning is punchier than previous and less acoustic, but Stipe’s vocals are still low in the mix; he’s credited as the “lead vocal instrument”.

Opening track ‘Harborcoat’ demonstrates the potential of this micro-era of R.E.M., marrying an arrangement that’s more propulsive than anything on Murmur, opening with a Bill Berry fill, to a pretty folk-rock melody that would have been right at home on that album. The other really effective rock piece is the closing ‘Little America’, which is one of the more fascinating and overlooked songs in the R.E.M. discography. Elsewhere, the material is slower, and lacks the unique atmosphere of Murmur. There are pretty songs like the atmospheric ‘Letter Never Sent’, the gently repetitive ‘Time After Time’, the bright country of ‘(Don’t Go Back To) Rockville’ (inspired by a girlfriend of Mike Mills), the apologetic ‘So, Central Rain’, and the enigmatic ‘7 Chinese Bros’.

I like Reckoning a lot, but there’s no single fantastic track to push it over the top, and having heard Murmur and Lifes Rich Pageant first, it’s just a highly competent but somewhat unsurprising link between those two peaks.


Fables Of The Reconstruction

R.E.M. Fables of the Reconstruction

1985, 8/10
Fables Of The Reconstruction was recorded in London with Fairport Convention and Nick Drake producer Joe Boyd. The influence of folk-rock band The Byrds was always commented upon in R.E.M.’s early reviews – Peter Buck wrote “we get compared to The Byrds every day”. It might have been expected that Boyd would accentuate such tendencies and lead the band in a more folk-influenced direction, but if anything it’s a more eclectic album than its predecessors. Moody pieces like ‘Old Man Kensey’ and ‘Feeling Gravity’s Pull’ account for the album’s sleepy reputation, but there are also bouncier songs like ‘Driver 8’ and ‘Can’t Get There From Here’.

The opening trifecta on Fables Of The Reconstruction is arguably the strongest start to any R.E.M. record. ‘Feeling Gravity’s Pull’ is a weird atmospheric opener, before the album kicks into gear with the catchy folk-rocker ‘Maps and Legends’ and the upbeat ‘Driver 8’. The reputation of this album as a downer is further dispelled by the energetic and eccentric power-pop of ‘Life And How To Live It’ and ‘Can’t Get There From Here’, while the stuttering rocker ‘Kohoutek’ is another overlooked gem and the piano-driven ‘Wendell Gee’ ends the album on a calming and elegiac note.

Fables Of The Reconstruction is a little inconsistent and disjointed, but it’s still a very good early album.


Lifes Rich Pageant

R.E.M. Lifes Rich Pageant

1986, 10/10
R.E.M. took a step towards the mainstream with Lifes Rich Pageant, enlisting John Mellencamp’s producer Don Gehman. Gehman gave the group a more commercial and rock-oriented sound, with Stipe’s vocals higher in the mix. Although R.E.M. lose some mystique in the process, the punchier sound is helpful, resulting in my favourite R.E.M. album.

The majority of Lifes Rich Pageant is upbeat, but my favourite is the mellow ‘Flowers of Guatemala’; Peter Buck squeezes out a lovely melodic solo which awakes the otherwise soothing song in a breathtaking fashion, while his riffing is seldom as effective as on the excellent opener ‘Begin the Begin’. Bassist Mike Mills’ vocal spotlights sound fantastic; his cover of the garage rocker ‘Superman’ is charming, while his bridge on the wonderful single ‘Fall On Me’ and harmonies on the chorus of ‘Cuyahoga’ enhance each song. R.E.M. also peel off a convincing punk song with ‘Just a Touch’, and even the tossed-off ‘Underneath the Bunker’ is fun.

There’s some tough competition with the likes of Murmur and Automatic For The People for the title of best R.E.M. album, but Lifes Rich Pageant is my pick.


Document

R.E.M. Document

1987, 7.5/10
Document garnered R.E.M. some mainstream attention – they scored major radio play with ‘The One I Love’, ‘It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)’ and ‘Finest Worksong’, and secured a major label record contract for their next album. But while it was successful, Document marks the end of the group’s most consistent phase, and it’s less enjoyable than its predecessors. Part of the problem is sequencing – it’s very strong for the first seven tracks, but gets more esoteric for the last few tracks.

The three obvious singles are all enjoyable; ‘The One I Love’ is one of Stipe’s most charmingly oblique lyrics: the “this one goes out to the one I love” verse fits in so seamlessly with the “fire” chorus that the lack of sense doesn’t matter. ‘Finest Worksong’ is stuffed full of hooks, while ‘It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)’ is fun and subversive. I don’t enjoy the cover of Wire’s ‘Strange’ as much as the original, but there are solid album tracks like the bouncy ‘Exhuming McCarthy’ and ‘Disturbance At The Heron House’.

Dor an album that was R.E.M.’s commercial breakthrough, Document is surprisingly inaccessible in places.


Green

R.E.M. Green

1988, 7.5/10
Green was R.E.M.’s major-label debut for Warner Brothers, bringing them into the mainstream. Unlike R.E.M.’s I.R.S. material, Green doesn’t feel like a coherent album – it’s merely a collection of songs, some strong and some dispensable, although generally tuneful. The group’s use of acoustic instruments like mandolin and accordion probably felt surprising in 1988, coming after a pair of rock-based albums, but R.E.M. recorded better acoustic songs on their subsequent albums.

The material is hit and miss; ‘Turn You Inside-Out’ is essentially an inferior rewrite of ‘Finest Worksong’, while ‘Hairshirt’ is pretty, but drags. The single ‘Stand’ is catchy, with nice organ from Mike Mills but feels like a throwaway. But there’s plenty of good material – ‘Orange Crush’ is an excellent single, ‘I Remember California’ is haunting, and ‘World Leader Pretend’ is a pleasant, contemplative acoustic song.

Green is a mixed bag, but R.E.M. made the transition to a major label with relative grace and ease.


Out of Time

R.E.M. Out of Time

1991, 6/10
R.E.M. dropped the serious, moody atmosphere that pervaded their 1980s albums, and shot to mega-stardom on the back of Out Of Time, a lighthearted and acoustic album. It’s more diverse than anything else the group has done, and it’s probably one of R.E.M.’s more divisive albums – there are strong tunes, and it’s well-produced. It’s well-loved, but I find it lightweight and inconsistent. The group bring in an ususual amount of outside musicians; rapper KRS-One guests on ‘Radio Song’, while The B-52s’ Kate Pierson sounds great harmonizing with Stipe on ‘Shiny Happy People’ and ‘Me In Honey’. Peter Holsapple, formerly of The dB’s, augments the band with guitar and bass parts on many of the songs.

On a lightweight album, it’s probably not a coincidence that the best song is also the darkest lyrically: ‘Losing My Religion’, where Stipe famously declares “Life is bigger than you/And you are not me.” Elsewhere, pretty songs like ‘Near Wild Heaven’ and ‘Texarkana’, both with Mike Mills on lead vocals, are successful, and I even enjoy the pop fluff of ‘Shiny Happy People’. But there are throwaways – the rap on ‘Radio Song’ makes for a gimmicky opener, and the instrumental ‘Endgame’ and ‘Belong’ feel inconsequential.

There’s an argument both ways for Out Of Time – it has some nice tunes and it’s fast-moving and entertaining, but I find it too insubstantial to be a favourite.


Automatic for the People

1992, 9/10
“Today I need something more substant, more substantial” sings Michael Stipe in Automatic for the People‘s ‘The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite’. R.E.M. deliver with Automatic for the People, a vast improvement from the fun but shallow Out of Time. While the two albums share an acoustic sensibility, Automatic for the People has a sincere and poignant core, and it’s a much more affecting album. One important and unlikely collaborator is Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones, who contributes some gorgeous string parts, particularly to the slow-burning opener ‘Drive’.

Other gorgeous pieces include the elegant and lilting closer ‘Find the River’ and the cello-centred ‘Sweetness Follows’, while even the overplayed ‘Everybody Hurts’, written by drummer Bill Berry, has plenty of emotional resonance. There are plenty of enjoyably idiosyncratic acoustic songs like ‘Monty Got a Raw Deal’ and ‘Man on the Moon’, and the only real throwaway is the brief instrumental. Automatic for the People isn’t all acoustic ballads – the political ‘Ignoreland’ rocks and provides a brief respite from the gentle tunes and serious themes.

Automatic For The People showcases the acoustic era of R.E.M. at their peak, with a successful balance between sincerity and commercialism.


Monster

R.E.M. Monster

1994, 6/10
With their previous two records, R.E.M. paused touring and became a studio-based band, following the lead of groups like XTC and late-period Beatles, and focusing on intricate and acoustic-based arrangements that would have been difficult to successfully recreate in arenas. When they decided to tour again, they purposefully created a loud and aggressive album that would be fun to recreate live. Monster trades in R.E.M.’s usual sincerity and restrained arrangements for a sound that’s equal measures of 1970s glam and 1990s grunge. At times Monster is successful, with Peter Buck generating some great guitar tones with layers of tremolo and reverb. With generally simple songs and limited stylistic variation, however, as a whole Monster is underwhelming.

Monster does have its moments; the opener ‘What’s The Frequency Kenneth?’ is my second favourite R.E.M. song, with the tremolo guitar used as a central hook, while ‘Bang and Blame’ is also trashy and fun. ‘Strange Currencies’ is effectively a more restrained update of ‘Everybody Hurts’, while ‘I Don’t Sleep, I Dream’ showcases Stipe’s falsetto. But while the album sounds good initially, a lot of the tracks reveal themselves as routine on subsequent listens.

Monster is one of R.E.M.’s most trivial albums; although it has a certain charm, don’t expect to get much mileage out of it.


New Adventures In Hi Fi

R.E.M. New Adventures in Hi Fi

1996, 8/10
New Adventures In Hi Fi was largely recorded during soundchecks on a horrific tour, during which drummer Bill Berry nearly died from an aneurysm, and Michael Stipe and Mike Mills were both hospitalised. It’s more authentically aggressive and rough around the edges than the contrived Monster, but it’s also overlong at 65 minutes.

The relatively sedate nature of the opening track, the minimalist piano-driven ‘How The West Was Won And Where It Got Us’, and the relatively calm singles ‘Bittersweet Me’ and ‘E-Bow The Letter’ paint a somewhat disproportionate picture of the album; a lot of the remaining tracks are gritty, and it’s slightly overlooked gems like ‘Undertow’, ‘Be Mine’ and ‘So Fast, So Numb’ that form the backbone of the record.

But the standout track is ‘Leave’, at seven minutes the longest track R.E.M. have recorded, rocking off the base of a dissonant synthesiser loop. ‘E-Bow The Letter’ is another epic, but sinks in more subtly, building intensity over its slow pacing with backing vocals from Patti Smith and impressionistic lyrics from Stipe (“aluminium, it tastes like fear/adrenaline, Princess Leia”). Other keepers include the charming low key ‘New Test Leper’ and the closing ballad ‘Electrolite’.

There’s a bit of filler, but this is exactly the kind of album that dedicated fans will enjoy wading through. In spite of, or perhaps because of, its sprawling nature New Adventures In Hi Fi is among R.E.M.’s best records.


Up

R.E.M. Up

1998, 7.5/10
Drummer Bill Berry left R.E.M. during 1997, a major upheaval for the group who’d had no lineup changes in their twenty years. In the tight-knit group, Berry had shared composing the music with Peter Buck and Mike Mills; the group considered breaking up, but Berry made them promise to continue. While they continued, R.E.M. took a radical departure from the hard rock flirtation of the previous two records, with Mills primarily playing keyboards and Buck playing bass.

With its slow tempos and long running time, Up can be a difficult proposition, even though it contains strong material. Opener ‘Airportman’ is built around a minimalist repetitive riff that’s electronica influenced. On the other side, the first single ‘Daysleeper’ is very much in a traditional R.E.M. vein, with acoustic guitars and a memorable chorus. ‘Lotus’ is just about the only upbeat track, ‘At My Most Beautiful’ is an enjoyable Beach Boys homage, while ‘Suspicion’ and ‘Falls To Climb’ are pretty melodies.

If you’re not turned off by slow pacing, Up is worth exploring, but it feels less effortless than most R.E.M. albums.


Reveal

2001, 6/10
For their second album as a three-piece, R.E.M. attempted to make a more upbeat record. Reveal is summery, filled with acoustic instruments and harmonies, but it also feels sluggish and over-laboured in the studio. It hasn’t aged as gracefully as most other R.E.M. records, sounding firmly like a product of the early 21st century. Like Up Reveal feels overlong and would have worked better as a forty-minute album. Peter Buck later told Under the Radar that Up has a “Jimmy Webb and Glenn Campbell vibe with a Krautrock filter, with The Beach Boys too, who were always in our DNA.”

The Glen Campbell comparisons are mostly justified for ‘All The Way To Reno (You’re Gonna Be A Star)’, where Buck’s guitar tone recalls Campbell’s famous baritone guitar solo on ‘Wichita Lineman’. Buck’s guitar also shines on ‘She Just Wants To Be’ and closer ‘Beachball’ is a fun Beach Boys pastiche, but the best three songs are the singles. ‘All The Way To Reno’ is the highlight, but ‘Imitation of Life’ is tuneful and disposable, while ‘I’ll Take The Rain’ recaptures some of the acoustic grandeur of Automatic for the People.

Like Up, Reveal is a valiant effort at claiming new sonic territory for R.E.M., but it’s too long and dated to rank among their best.


Around The Sun

2004, 5/10
After the florid technicolour of Reveal, Around the Sun is a stripped-back affair. In stark contrast to their early records, Stipe’s vocals are pushed to the front, backed by low-key guitars and keyboards. R.E.M. making a singer-songwriter album is an interesting concept – Stipe’s a distinctive vocalist and lyricist – but there isn’t enough strong material on Around the Sun. Around the Sun is the first R.E.M. album to feature a title track, and the first to feature drummer Bill Rieflin who’d stick around for the rest of the group’s tenure without becoming an official member.

While it’s over-long and under-interesting as a whole, some of the individual tracks work well. The opener ‘Leaving New York’ is more ornate than most of the material, with Mills’ harmonies providing a lift to the lovely chorus. There are also worthwhile deep cuts like ‘Boy in the Well’ and the acoustic George W. Bush criticism of ‘Final Straw’. There’s half a solid album, but songs like the generic ‘Make It All Okay’ and the Q-Tip cameo on ‘The Outsiders’ fail to take flight.

Around The Sun has good tracks, but the low-key arrangements mean the record is dull when the songs aren’t top-drawer.


Accelerate

2008, 7.5/10
After diminishing returns with a series of mellow albums, R.E.M. returned to guitar rock with Accelerate. With Rieflin as a permanent drummer, R.E.M. feel more like a band again rather than a studio project. Accelerate doesn’t repeat any of their previous work – it doesn’t share the mysterious atmosphere of their 1980s work or the glam and grunge overtones of Monster – it’s just a straightforward and tuneful rock album. The tight 34 minute running time is also welcome, and even though it runs out of steam towards the end with a couple of spoken word tracks, it’s the most enjoyable R.E.M. record for a long time.

The first half is particularly strong – there’s a series of very good rockers at the start like ‘Living Well Is The Best Revenge’ and ‘Supernatural Superserious’. ‘Hollow Man’ steps close to power pop, while the acoustic ‘Houston’ recalls their IRS material. Some of the slower material on the second side is less effective, but the energetic ‘I’m Gonna DJ’ is an effective closer.

Accelerate is a very solid return to form – it’s great to hear Buck’s riffs and Mills’ chunky basslines again.


Collapse Into Now

2011, 7.5/10
Before they started recording, R.E.M. had already decided that their fifteenth studio album would be their last. Collapse Into Now serves as a grand summary of R.E.M.’s career, covering everything from Accelerate-style rockers like ‘Discover’ to the mandolin-driven ‘Oh My Heart’ which would have fitted nicely onto Out of Time. If you’re expecting a big emotional statement from R.E.M., Collapse Into Now feels more like a load has lifted from Stipe’s shoulders. His lyrics are more playful than they’ve been for years, as titles ‘Mine Smell Like Honey’ and ‘Alligator_Aviator_Autopilot_Antimatter’ indicate. The record’s two halves are labelled ‘X-Axis’ and ‘Y-Axis’.

Collapse Into Now suffers a little from a lack of top-tier R.E.M. tunes, but it’s still a lot of fun. ‘Mine Smells Like Honey’ and ‘Discoverer’ are energetic rockers, while ‘Walk It Back’ and ‘Überlin’ are lovely acoustic tracks. Patti Smith guests on ‘Blue’, lending some gravitas to Stipe’s spoken-word vocals before the album ends on a brief reprise of ‘Discoverer’.

Collapse Into Now is an enjoyable recap from R.E.M., closing their recording career with their best record since the mid-1990s.


Hindu Love Gods

Hindu Love Gods R.E.M. and Warren Zevon

1990, 4/10
An R.E.M. side project, formed by Mills, Berry and Buck along with the late Warren Zevon on lead vocals, the Hindu Love Gods album was recorded in the mid-1980s while working on Zevon’s Sentimental Hygiene. It’s less subtle and idiosyncratic than contemporary R.E.M. albums, and much more resembles the work of a well-oiled bar band; Berry sums up the disc well with his comment that “it took us about as long to do as it takes to listen to.”

A collection of mostly blues covers, it’s very much to be taken at face value, and it’s certainly not an essential part of the R.E.M. discography, even though it’s interesting to hear the group let their hair down and play in a more relaxed and less ornate style. Buck in particular, is playing a fuller rhythm sound that’s different than his typical Byrds-derived jangle. Zevon’s vocal swagger is entertaining, full of libido and gusto in songs like ‘Travelling Riverside Blues’ (appropriated by Led Zeppelin for ‘The Lemon Song’). It’s entertaining, but the material’s ubiquitous (‘Mannish Boy’, ‘Wang Dang Doodle’, ‘Junko Pardner’) and it’s played straight, so it doesn’t hold up to repeated listens. The exception is a glorious cover of Prince’s ‘Raspberry Beret’; transformed from effeminate psychedelia into blustery swagger.

I paid $2 for my copy, and it’s going straight into my sell pile when I finish this review, but it’s worth hearing ‘Raspberry Beret’.

Ten Best R.E.M. Songs

Find The River
What’s The Frequency Kenneth?
Fall On Me
Losing My Religion
Leave
Shaking Through
Flowers of Guatemala
The One I Love
Orange Crush
Maps and Legends

Back to 1980s Reviews…

6 Comments

  1. Ate up the first 4 albums and hung in for the rest. Good music. I like the ‘Hindu” album. Just caught Alejandro Escovedo on Austin City Limits. Peter Buck was in his band. Great show. A long time ago I caught Buck and Mills on a radio show and they did ‘Cat Balou’. Loved it.

  2. Top 10 REM songs

    Radio Free Europe
    Crush With Eyeliner
    What’s the Frequency Kenneth?
    Country Feedback
    Bang and Blame
    Tongue
    Drive
    Night swimming
    The Sidewindet Sleeps Tonight
    Stand

  3. I’ve only just come across your reviews, so I’m well behind the curve time-wise. But, as a lifelong fan, here’s my REM Top 10 in chronological order…

    *Gardening at Night (Chronic Town is an early gem, and the pace and lyrical melodies on this are wonderful)
    *Talk about the Passion (classic early REM, and quite accessible by Murmur’s standards)
    *Perfect Circle (just beautiful – the bass is sublime and Stipe is haunting)
    *Harborcoat (love this as an opener to Reckoning, similar propulsive feel to Hyena below and great backing from Mike Mills).
    *Maps and Legends (I first saw REM in 85 on the Fables… tour, and they blew me away; I have a real soft spot for the album)
    *Driver 8 (the standout track – if you can ever dig out the original video for this, it’s a gem).
    *Cuyahoga (I could have made the whole list Life’s Rich Pageant, to be honest)
    *Hyena (Bill Berry’s drumming!)
    *Texarkana (the Mike Mills show, and he nails it wonderfully on this deceptively simple song. The bassline!)
    *Leave (I can’t believe I’m only picking one song from the most recent eight albums but, despite seeing REM several times, their post-LRP music seemed to drift off in directions I didn’t always want to follow as passionately, despite there being some fine albums. There are exceptions of which this is the best. Electrolite was a close contender here).

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Aphoristic Album Reviews is almost entirely written by one person. It features album reviews and blog posts across a growing spectrum of popular music.

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Graham Fyfe has been writing this website since his late teens. Now in his forties, he's been obsessively listening to albums for years. He works as a web editor and plays the piano.

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