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After the 1981 release of their debut single, “Radio Free Europe,” the fledgling R.E.M. returned to the studio with producer Mitch Easter. They emerged in 1982 with this five-song EP, first released on vinyl and later included on Dead Letter Office and The Originals. Now Universal has released Chronic Town as a no-frills standalone CD (in a nod to tape collectors, the label also has issued a cassette edition). The release presages the 40th anniversary of the band’s 1983 debut LP Murmur. The jangly pop and moody fogbound vocals of Chronic Town ushered in the alt-rock era. The band’s experimental side hits hard on the cacophonous opener, “Wolves, Lower” and sets the tone for the EP. The deceptively simple sounding record had “hundreds of guitars, backward guitars, backward vocals,” guitarist Peter Buck has said. “We were looking for a claustrophobic effect, like you’re struggling into a world where you don’t know what’s going on, and you have to figure it out by using clues.” The EP paved the way for a successful three-decade career. While “Radio Free Europe” acted as the band’s brilliant calling card, it all started with the enigmatic Chronic Town, a milestone in R.E.M.’s transition from garage band to rock iconoclast.
By Greg Cahill
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