Murmer

tracks on LP: Radio Free Europe | Pilgrimage | Laughing | Talk About The Passion | Moral Kiosk | Perfect Circle | Catapult | Sitting Still | 9 – 9 | Shaking Through | We Walk | West Of The Fields

Record label: I.R.S. SP 70604

Released: 29/08/83
Purchased: 12/11/83

Dial M For Murmur

R.E.M., like The B-52’s, come from Athens, Georgia, but it must be the other side of town. Where the B’s are flamboyant, emblazoning their borrowed pop icons in bright slabs of neon, R.E.M. are reticent and introspective, veiling their observations and remembrances in a gauzy cloud.

But there’s nothing like the draw of a good mystery, and R.E.M. are champions of soft-focus enigmatic pop. ‘Murmur’ confirms that the enticing “Chronic Town” EP of last year was no fluke, and that R.E.M. are capable of sustaining this mood of chilling delicacy.

Part of the mystery comes from the fact that we often can’t understand what singer Michael Stipe is saying. Part of it comes from the fact that even when we can understand what he’s saying, we can’t be sure what it means. But whether it’s through clear enunciation or a breathless, jumbled voice, Stipe always suggests a lot more than he says. His lines send out ripples of meaning that won’t stop.

“Empty prayers empty mouths talk about the passion,
Not everyone can carry the weight of the world.”

Some grand feeling is being outlined here, its implications telegraphed through a wilful obscurity that blurs meaning but doesn’t annoy at all. Rather, it draws us in, makes us want to play along in its games.

Which is key to R.E.M. They use sound and suggestion to seduce, to gently break down resistance and take us further than we intended to go. It’s a subtle method, and it is the reason why this record needs to be listened to two or three times before it fully clicks.

There is no direct hommage paid to anyone, but it’s impossible to hear the sounds of these shimmering Rickenbackers, the acoustic guitar underlays and the deliciously warm harmonies without thinking of The Byrds and The Hollies. The apotheosis of this folk-rock redux is reached on “Pilgrimage”, with its soaring double-tracked vocals, super sharp hook of a chorus and colourful sonic sweep.

A few songs – “Catapult”, “9-9” – rush by without leaving much impression. But there are many gems. “Laughing” is a quiet outline of a situation you feel you must at one time have been in. “Shaking Through” has words so impossibly meaningless and catchy they can’t be forgotten, and a dazzling melodic push, “Moral Kiosk” has a harder rhythmic shove and a puzzling challenge – “So much more attractive inside the moral kiosk.”

You should have your own dreams about these ghostly songs. Their overall mood is mystical, revelatory, gentle and open. R.E.M. have a claim to being one of the most evocative pop practitioners around. (NME, 03/09/83)