Reviews
"...a beautiful hodgepodge....Some songs look back at phases of R.E.M.'s career while others suggest new directions....R.E.M. spends half this album experimenting, turning songs into soundscapes with...synthesizers, sitars and bouzouki, Mellotron and Autoharp...", "...if the arena-designed, occasionally forced MONSTER felt like a midlife crisis, NEW ADVENTURES IN HI-FI finds R.E.M. returning to their joyful idiosyncrasies....not in years has an R.E.M. album showed such breadth..." - Rating: A, Ranked #11 in the Village Voice's 1996 Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll., 5 Stars (out of 5) - "...it's easily the most diverse set of tunes R.E.M. have yet chosen to deliver....a seamlessly assembled mix of live performances...soundcheck reditions...'live' studio takes....hits many and varied targets virtually every time.", Ranked #16 in Nme's 1996 Critics' Poll., Ranked #4 on Entertainment Weekly's List of the "Top 10 Albums and Singles of 1996.", Ranked #11 on Spin's List of the "20 Best Albums of '96.", 8 (out of 10) - "...one of the most disillusioned albums ever made....Every lyric...is harrowed from a soul so empty all it seems to hear is the echo of its own resignation....It's a litany of trouble beyond despair....not an easy album but...a great one...", Ranked #58 in Mojo's "100 Modern Classics" -- "They Sound Refreshed and Enriched.", "The volume and drive of MONSTER remained but it was kept in check with songs that felt closer to the dark, jangling spirit of AUTOMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE.", Ranked #4 on Rolling Stone's List of the "Ten Best Albums" of 1996., 6 (out of 10) - "...While the tunes seem banged out, as if the band forced itself to keep having a jammin' good time despite the aneurysms and whatnot, the arrangements are thoroughly tarted up, often by various sidemen. This is a mixed blessing, as NEW ADVENTURES pays greater attention to hip sounds than to happening songs...", 4.5 Stars (out of 5) - "...R.E.M.'s most ambitious album to date....there's a sense of spontaneity here that's rarely been heard on an R.E.M. record....a sense of ambition and liberation that R.E.M. haven't displayed since 1985's FABLES OF THE RECONSTRUCTION..."
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