Review Summary: Happier than [i]Up[/i], if that's saying anything.
As you probably noticed by now, I'm not a big fan of
Up, for various reasons. And not a lot of R.E.M. fans are either. Reveal is just like that album, only bumpier and even more inconsistent.
On with the review then.
From the opening chords of "The Lifting" you could be forgiven for assuming you've put an
Air CD into the player by accident. It's quite distressing to hear at first that the basic issues plaguing
Up haven't been resolved, and are repeated from the beginning. Again with cramming too many layers of synths and studiocraft. Though I like how they've finally used some session drummers on this track instead of drum machines. In quite a remarkable achievement, the track manages to get better throughout its running time. All the overdubs actually achieve functional chemistry, rather than the "overdubbing for the sake of it" modus operandi previously employed. 2:15 also manages to bring a very nice slide guitar melody which sends the song into the stratosphere... metaphorically.
Good start, but can we hold on to the momentum? "I've Been High" provides the answer: no. It is relatively more stripped-down than its predecessor, having just organ, synth and a multitude of drum machines. It sounds basically like
Sigur Rós without their mountain-sized majestic sound. Michael Stipe does manage to deliver some nice vocals in the upper range of his voice, but the track is a waste. Worryingly, only two minutes in the Revenge of the Studio happens.
"All The Way to Reno" is, hands down, the best track on the whole album, powered by an immediately memorable guitar riff. Yes, it does have a lot of overdubs and instruments at the same time, but they all click and manage to achieve something magic. And of course, Michael Stipe's soaring vocals help massively. The only bad part is that the song ends, and the rest of the album can't measure up to it. But it's also a good sign that the sleepwalking has been replaced by the sun on this album.
"She Just Wants to Be" is based on a somewhat folky acoustic guitar riff, but I am annoyed by the oversized drums used (they sound like timpanis!). The album is as a whole, hit-and-miss, and this song is a relative miss, especially coming on the heels of "Reno", especially thanks to the strings the band dumped on it and its 5-and-a-half-minute running time, guaranteeing that it will quickly wear out its welcome. Which it does.
"Disappear" is an utter mess, starting with discordant strings and synths, and never recovering from there. There are so many things going on at once it's hard to pay attention. As a result, the song just... evaporates... even though the guitar melody is rather memorable, if sounding too much like
Radiohead's "In Limbo". Pity, because the track is immaculately produced and arranged. If only they'd cut off a few things, it might come off better.
"Saturn Return" is essentially mood music, based on soundscape construction. It recalls the worst excesses of
Up, and it is just as lethargic despite the jarring distorted drum machines and synths. A real drag on the album, it should be avoided.
"Beat a Drum" is more of the same, and it drags just the same. More insanely overproduced electronicky mood music, more lethargy. Skip this one as well, it doesn't bring anything to the table but sleep. Nothing else to say.
"Imitation of Life" is the other brilliant song on
Reveal, besides "Reno". It's a sunny, happy pop-rock song driven by catchy, forceful guitar melodies where every overdub clicks and the track achieves liftoff. And Michael Stipe delivers some simply excellent vocals. It's great to have this track in the middle to inject some energy into the second half of the album, which was sagging hard by now.
"Summer Turns to High" is a scary drop in songwriting quality, and the new momentum evaporates. The song itself combines pristine, New Agey synth melodies with frantic, confused drum machines. A sort of sped-up "Saturn Return", if you will. Again, jump past this one as it ends up contributing only to sleep.
"Chorus and the Ring", too, evaporates into thin air during its running time. No memorable melodies, just a plodding two-chord meandering wankery that goes nowhere. "I'll Take the Rain" is a better track, managing to capture the listener's attention and hold on to it from the beginning. Luckily, on this song the band haven't exaggerated with the overdubs as much as on others, and the track comes off well. As a contrast with what came before, it's generally more melancholic (if optimistic). But its fatal flaw is the 6-minute running time. Admirably the track soldiers on, but eventually wears out its welcome.
"Beachball", the final track on the album, is the most Beach Boys-influenced and the last good one. It's again low-key and features predominant usage of drum machine, but luckily the production has been reined in again, somewhat. There's not a lot to say about the song
per se, on the surface there isn't a huge difference between it and the rest of the album. But somehow, it manages to hold interest and comes off well.
Conclusion. The album is slightly better than
Up, even though it is just as rambly, unfocused, overproduced, cluttered and boring. The strong points are: "The Lifting", "All the Way to Reno", "Imitation of Life" and "Beachball". The rest range from boring to lethargic and from bad to worse.
