Leaving behind the garagey
jangle pop of their first recordings,
R.E.M. developed a strangely subdued variation of their trademark sound for their full-length debut album,
Murmur. Heightening the enigmatic tendencies of
Chronic Town by de-emphasizing the backbeat and accentuating the ambience of the ringing guitar,
R.E.M. created a distinctive sound for the album -- one that sounds eerily timeless. Even though it is firmly in the tradition of American
folk-rock,
post-punk, and
garage rock,
Murmur sounds as if it appeared out of nowhere, without any ties to the past, present, or future. Part of the distinctiveness lies in the atmospheric production, which exudes a detached sense of mystery, but it also comes from the remarkably accomplished songwriting. The songs on
Murmur sound as if they've existed forever, yet they subvert
folk and
pop conventions by taking unpredictable twists and turns into melodic, evocative territory, whether it's the measured riffs of
"Pilgrimage," the melancholic
"Talk About the Passion," or the winding guitars and pianos of
"Perfect Circle." R.E.M. may have made albums as good as
Murmur in the years following its release, but they never again made anything that sounded quite like it. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
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