R.E.M.'s
Automatic for the People is one of my favorite R.E.M. albums, and one of the best alt/folk albums of the early 90's. The general mood is dark, dreary, and depressing. Michael Stipes vocal delivery is sort of stale and rough, but it fits in with the acoustic folkiness of the album. The thing that makes this album so essential is how every track is somewhat similar to one another yet they are also quite different.
Ignoreland features some hard rocking guitar riffs, along with a quick paced harmonica line ending the song.
Nightswimming is basically just a piano and Stipe singing resulting in a beautiful yet somewhat corny song. The albums most pop influenced tune is
The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight which features an upbeat and hard to decipher chorus. Stipe sounds excited and in result you get an odd pop tune thrown in between two dreary tracks. The first two tracks
Drive and
Try Not to Breath are both acoustically driven and have a dark folk feel to them. I love how the whole mood of the album is extremely dark and folk influenced yet R.E.M. still keep their rock edge. The albums highlight has to be the soft, eerie
Star Me Kitten which is comprised of a soothing bassline, some gentle backing vocals and the song just puts you to sleep.
Automatic for the People is essential for those who want a nice folk influenced rock album with a dark, dreary atmosphere.
