R.E.M. - Fables of the Reconstruction

Recorded during a bleak, rainy winter in London, R.E.M.’s third album is the darkest, strangest, and most deeply Southern record of their entire catalog. The bright, jangly pop of their early work gets swallowed up by muddy, atmospheric production, creating a soundscape full of eccentric characters, train mythology, and rural eccentricities. Tracks like 'Driver 8' and 'Can't Get There From Here' have an incredible, nervous urgency to them. On vinyl, the dense, murky mix demands your attention, drawing you into a mesmerizing, slightly haunted world. It’s the sound of a great band daring to get weird.