I had low expectations for New Adventures in Hi-Fi after Monster, but R.E.M. blew it out of the water with this one.
From 1983 to 1992, R.E.M. had an unbroken string of fantastic albums, at least by my reckoning. (No pun intended.) To that point, Document was the high-water mark for me, but I had zero disappointment in Green, Out of Time, or Automatic for the People. (I even like “Shiny Happy People” non-ironically. At least I think I like it non-ironically. Who can tell, these days?)
And then Monster. I slogged through a few listens to Monster and then put it aside, disappointed. It seemed R.E.M. and I had gone separate ways. And then New Adventures came out, and all was well with the world.
Continue reading ““New Adventures in Hi-Fi” by R.E.M. (No. 9)”
