Mike Mills Talks On Upcoming R.E.M. Album

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Mike Mills revealed new details about R.E.M.’s upcoming album, Collapse Into Now. The bassist explains the new project sounds reminiscent of the group’s 1992 release, Automatic for the People.

”The songs go from one type into another really easily and it all seems to fit as a piece,” he says. “It makes sense as a whole the same way that Automatic For The People did.” He goes on to say it will differ from their last record, Accelerate, in that they took away guidelines for the album. “On the last one we tried to make everything focused, short, fast and sharp. We took most of the rules off this time, picking the best songs regardless of whether they were fast, slow or mid-tempo.” He also adds that, “It’s more of a personal record than a political one. Current events do come into our mind when we write, but the themes here are more universal.”

R.E.M.’s Collapse Into Now is due out early next year, and will feature guest vocals by Patti Smith. You can read the rest of Mills’ interview at RollingStone.com.