Reviews of Murmur
 
 
 
 
Steve Pond, Rolling Stone
1/1/1983

R.E.M's "Chronic Town" EP was one of last year's more invigorating, tuneful surprises: a record from an Athens, Georgia, band that cared not a whit for the fashionable quirks of that town's dance-rock outfits like the B-52's or Pylon. R.E.M. fashioned its own smart, propulsive sound out of bright pop melodies, a murky, neopsychedelic atmosphere and a host of late-Sixties pop-rock touches. The execution wasn't always up to the ideas - instrumentally the band was still stumbling at times - but "Chronic Town" served notice that R.E.M. was an outfit to watch. "Murmur" is the record on which they trade that potential for results: an intelligent, enigmatic, deeply involving album, it reveals a depth and cohesiveness to R.E.M. that the EP could only suggest.

"Murmur" is a darker record than "Chronic Town," but this band's darkness is shot through with flashes of bright light. Vocalist Michael Stipe's nasal snarl, Mike Mills' rumbling bass and Bill Berry's often sharp, slashing drums cast a cloudy, postpunk aura that is lightened by Peter Buck's folk-flavored guitar playing. Many of the songs have vague, ominous settings, a trait that's becoming an R.E.M. trademark. But not only is there a sense of detachment on the record - these guys, as one song title says, "Talk About the Passion" more often than they experience it - but the tunes relentlessly resist easy scanning. There's no lyric sheet, Stipe slurs his lies, and they even pick a typeface that's hard to read. But beyond the elusiveness is a restless, nervous record full of false starts and images of movement, pilgrimage, transit.
 
In the end, though, what they're saying is less fascinating than how they say it, and "Murmur's" indelible appeal results from its less elusive charms: the alternately anthemic and elegiac choruses of such stubbornly rousing tunes as "Laughing" and "Sitting Still"; instrumental touches as apt as the stately, elegant piano in the ballad "Perfect Circle" and the shimmering folkish guitar in "Shaking Through"; above all, an original sound placed in the service of songs that matter. R.E.M. is clearly the important Athens band.

Review of Murmur
Unknown Author, CMJ Magazine

4/11/1983

REM rewards the attentive listener. Their music is bursting with pleasant surprises, which begin to surface only after a few plays. Influences ranging from the Byrds to Herman's Hermits to the Dave Clark Five abound, while the band still sounds truly distinctive. Songs which on first listen seem to be filler begin to take on life and power-you may find your favorite track changing with each play. Although the lyrics are often unclear-even when they're comprehensible through Michael Stipes throaty vocals-it doesn't-really matter. In R.E.M.'s music, vocals are more than just lyrics, they add to the total experience by blending with and contrasting to the music. And when a lyric does come through (again, with repeated listening) the imagery is often startling. Murmur is a truly superb debut album, showcasing a new and innovative approach to rock and pop music. Just ashy made U2 the most talked about new artist of 1980, Murmur makes R.E.M. the band to watch in 1983. Suggested cuts: ALL