Name: Chronic Town EP
Brand: R.E.M.

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

4573643

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Colour

Colour details

Discogs ID

[r24241181]

Format multiplier

Download code

Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

Picture Disc

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Format Music GB

Limited edition

Release date

2023-06-02

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier GB

Universal

Tax rate GB

Standard:20

UPC / Barcode

0602445736430

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Total Cap

1 / Extended format: No / LP / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No

Artist

R.E.M.

Genre GB

Alternative / Modern

Label GB

Polydor

R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and drummer Bill Berry. They gained early attention for their unique guitar style and distinct vocals. R.E.M. released their first single in 1981 and went on to achieve mainstream success with hits like "The One I Love". Known for their political and environmental concerns, they continued to evolve their sound throughout the years. In 2011, R.E.M. disbanded after a successful career spanning over three decades.

One of the pioneers of alternative rock, R.E.M.'s influence can be seen in subsequent acts such as Nirvana and Pavement. Their commercially successful albums "Out of Time" (1991) and "Automatic for the People" (1992) showcased a departure from their established sound. The band's versatility is evident in their more rock-oriented album "Monster" (1994). Despite some changes in musical style, R.E.M. continued to release music into the next decade with mixed critical and commercial success.

In recognition of their impact on the music industry, R.E.M. was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007. Throughout their career, they remained dedicated to touring and promoting important causes while playing large arenas worldwide.

40th anniversary reissue of R.E.M.’s debut EP Chronic Town. Featuring such adored classics in the band’s repertoire as “Gardening At Night”, “Wolves, Lower” and “1,000,000,” the five song EP, as Rolling Stone noted, “served notice that R.E.M. was an outfit to watch.” As a debut release, R.E.M.’s Chronic Town was an anomaly… a record that didn’t quite fit into the constraints of what was played on the radio. So instead of trying to fit into a genre, R.E.M. helped create their own: College Rock. The follow-up to their breakthrough single “Radio Free Europe” which was released in 1981, Chronic Town served as the entry point to what would become one of Alternative Rock’s biggest bands. “One might fancifully say that Chronic Town was the sound of an expedition, ready for anything, setting forth,” says Easter fondly about the EP. “If R.E.M. ‘Radio Free Europe’ single was a signpost, the Chronic Town EP was the atlas.”

Introducing their arpeggiated guitar playing, cryptic and often indecipherable lyrics, and radiant choruses that would soon emerge as signatures of the classic R.E.M. sound, Chronic Town is the sound of a restless band, chock full of ideas, operating on a post-collegiate budget. Charmingly ragged and refreshingly immediate, it established the band indelibly upon impact. “Wolves, Lower” opens the EP with Michael Stipe’s trademark impressionistic and idiosyncratic lyrics, while Mike Mills’ rubbery bass lines and Peter Buck’s jangly Rickenbacker keeps Bill Berry’s unpredictable drumming in check. It’s this combination that would not only fuel the band for subsequent decades but make them equally as dependable as songsmiths. Serving as a template for ‘80s college jangle pop, “Gardening At Night” forged a style that combined heartily strummed rhythm guitars with a meandering bass line that proved to be a solid blueprint for college bands to come.

Critically hailed both upon release and in retrospect, Chronic Town heralded “a great band planting their flag in the ground, an historic landmark that portended great things that actually came” (Stereogum). The Stranger praised “everything about the EP, from its gnomic, blue-tinted cover art, to its restlessly discursive music, to the fact that the two sides both had their own titles (‘Chronic Town’ and ‘Poster Torn’), was not only good on its own merits, but an excellent influence in favor of obscurantism and understatement.” Chronic Town’s impact and influence on the future of alternative music is uncontested and described by Magnet Magazine as “essentially a template for the entire indie-rock movement.”

Chronic Town EP

Music GB