Some tracks have been previewed already via REM HQ and they sound pretty good. Oh My Heart is a classic REM 3/4 time song in the vein of Half A World Away, Discoverer echoes Finest Worksong, Mine Smells Like Honey is a fast, catchy song and reminds me a bit of Moral Kiosk. My favourite so far, might well be It Happened Today. Kind of like a turbo charged Belong. The second half of the song has no lyrics but instead has a chorus of intertwining "ahh" harmonies and is a magniificently, uplifting hymn. A live version of Oh My Heart is here:
http://stereogum.com/627131/watch-r-e-m ... ere/video/
Looking forward to its release on 7th March along with Elbows new one. Elbow's wonderful Lippy Kid is played live in their studio here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NItwaz0nLJA
Mark