In the last few months, news has been slowly trickling in about R.E.M.'s upcoming 15th LP. First, we learned that recording had been completed with producer Jacknife Lee, and then the album was officially titled Collapse into Now. In a new interview with Spin, bassist Mike Mills unveiled a slew of information about the record, which will feature guest spots from Eddie Vedder, Patti Smith and Peaches.
In addition to announcing the high-profile guests, Mills opened up about what fans can expect from Collapse into Now. "With Accelerate, we were trying to make a point by making the songs as short and as fast as possible," he said. "So we wanted this new one to be more expansive. We wanted to put more variety into it and not limit ourselves to any one type of song. There are some really slow, beautiful songs; there are some nice, mid-tempo ones; and then there are three or four rockers."
Lyrically, the album promises to be "very personal, very human," a departure from the overtly political Accelerate.
Vedder will sing on the track "It Happened Today," while Smith appears on closing track "Blue." Peaches, meanwhile, lends her vocals to a still untitled song (which will likely contain the word "alligator" in the title). All told, the album will have 12 tracks.
There's no word as to the exact release date, but it's still expected to be out in spring 2011.
In addition to announcing the high-profile guests, Mills opened up about what fans can expect from Collapse into Now. "With Accelerate, we were trying to make a point by making the songs as short and as fast as possible," he said. "So we wanted this new one to be more expansive. We wanted to put more variety into it and not limit ourselves to any one type of song. There are some really slow, beautiful songs; there are some nice, mid-tempo ones; and then there are three or four rockers."
Lyrically, the album promises to be "very personal, very human," a departure from the overtly political Accelerate.
Vedder will sing on the track "It Happened Today," while Smith appears on closing track "Blue." Peaches, meanwhile, lends her vocals to a still untitled song (which will likely contain the word "alligator" in the title). All told, the album will have 12 tracks.
There's no word as to the exact release date, but it's still expected to be out in spring 2011.
