R.E.M. - Accelerate

“R.E.M.’s first album in four years shoehorns 11 tracks of jagged guitars, quick and dirty drums, and Michael Stipe’s gruff keen into 34 minutes, rocking with a blacker, blunter edge than “Document,” “Green” or “Monster.” Armed with deadpan “wow’s” and “T-Rex moves” honed from 1996’s “Wake-Up Bomb,” Stipe limns politics, the media and the velocity of modern life with gimlet eyes, from the strutting “don’t turn your talking points on me” of “Living Well’s the Best Revenge” to the candid “uncertainty is suffocating” of the title track. A ’70s jukebox grit dominates “Mansized Wreath,” while Peter Buck’s cool riff for first single “Supernatural Superserious” strikes like a cartoon mallet. “Accelerate” may not stun on impact like some R.E.M. records, but it’s still habit-forming.—Jessica Letkemann”

Upcoming CD’s - Updated

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The Black Keys - Attack and Release

“Throughout the course of four proper albums, the Black Keys hewed to a no-nonsense formula: guitar, drums, vocals, period. It was so satisfyingly simple and raw it’s likely the duo could have successfully deployed it again. But, to paraphrase the old saying, you can’t know what you’ve been missing until you’ve had it, and on “Attack & Release,” we have it. Danger Mouse, the first producer to work with the Keys, takes on a role akin to gardener: He nurtures the duo’s innate musicality, allowing its elemental blues-rock to bloom into something far grander. Clever but tasteful arrangements and an impeccable shine make songs like “Same Old Thing” seem anything but. The heavy, dirge-like “Lies” and the playful, faux-spooky “Psychotic Girl,” which melds whimsical keyboard with earthy banjo and slide guitar, are but two of many highlights. —Susan Visakowitz”