Around the Sun
| R.E.M.
Around the Sun
Around the Sun is the 13th studio album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released in October 2004 on Warner Bros. Records. -Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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Pitchfork
Its chief problem is that every word, every note, and every instrument sounds dry, sapped of most of their personality.
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Rolling Stone
On Around the Sun, that intrinsically R.E.M.-y vibe makes a tentative, muted comeback.
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NME
The world’s biggest alt.rockers release their 13th album, but with decent tunes in short supply, will anyone care?
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Drowned in Sound
It may be slightly too early too sound the death knell for one of the greatest groups of all time, but in order to climb out of the rut they're in, they have to negotiate the obstacle of themselves.
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BBC
If Peter Buck listened to this on an aeroplane, he'd drift off to sleep.
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A.V. Club Music
Perhaps Stipe and company felt that Around The Sun would mark an adventurous move into the flatlands, or an experiment in removing all but the most basic elements of its sound to create something profoundly simple. Instead, it mostly sounds like indifference from a group that can, has, and likely will go miles deeper than this.
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Pop Matters
They seem to be working through a serious funk.
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Slant Magazine
Sun is filled mostly with more of the pleasant yet unremarkable Triple-A sludge that has defined latter day R.E.M.
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The Guardian
Around the Sun is REM's first truly redundant album.
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SPIN
Evidently, he’s still losing his religion. Us, too.
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Treble Zine
Around the Sun is unusually lifeless and unfocused. And I don’t blame the band one bit for essentially disavowing it.
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Diffuser
Almost killed the band's career.
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All Music
Around the Sun offers no weighty themes -- it dabbles in politics and relationships, but the lyrics never seem to mesh with the music -- and it's emotionally removed, keeping listeners at a considerable distance.
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Sabotage Times
Around The Sun marks an indisputable low for the band.
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uDiscover Music
Around The Sun] wasn’t as good as it should have been.
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Vulture
Awkwardly tries to bargain with old ideas.
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Music OMH
This is a welcome reminder that there are still bands out there who exude class and quality.
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Adrian's Album Reviews
The songs remain well-crafted songs throughout, yet you lose the desire to listen to them. So, despite undoubted highlights, which also include the title track actually, 'Around The Sun' fails to be the return to top form REM fans have hoped for.
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Mark's Record Reviews
Unfortunately, it's the worst REM release of all time.
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Lunar Boulevard
It's not an album you'll love on your first or even fourth listen but eventually, when taken for what it is, you may find yourself enjoying another trip around the sun. I know I have.
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The Music Box
This is the new R.E.M. in all its resplendent glory.
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Exclaim!
Slow, sombre and featuring none of the hooks or sharp songwriting that defined pretty much everything they'd done up until that point, it was critical and commercial disappointment that time has done little to blunt.
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John McFerrin Music Reviews
Mediocre/good.
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Don Ignacio's Music Reviews
It's such a disappointment!
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Robert Christgau
At last the pop album nostalgics are always bitching about, and it's an improvement.
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RTE
Oh dear. It was bound to happen at some point, but that still doesn't make it any easier.
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Entertainment
Not the best album they've ever made, probably not even in the top five. But worth investigation all the same.
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