Even by Peter’s standards, a double album is pretty ambitious. Can’t wait to check out “Iranian Embassy Siege.”
Very excited about this. And a tour early next year! I heard a few of the new songs when I saw them earlier this year - sounded great.
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Can’t wait!
I hope they’ll come to Germany.
According to the press release, they’ll be touring the UK, USA, and Europe, in early 2023!
Yeah, I saw that, but that’s kind of very vague at the moment 
I’d be amazed if they didn’t do Germany! They’ll definitely do France. Luke Haines has always been popular in France…
Hope you get to see them. I saw them in April and they were great!
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I’d love to see them, so fingers crossed
Mirrored via an R.E.M. HQ tweet.
"You can listen to the delightfully demented rock n roll fever dream “Psychedelic Sitar Casual,”
The track featured was fun to listen to, hilarious in a good way.
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On first listen, this is a musical tour de force for Buck (and, I presume, Scott McCaughey). There was never any doubt that Buck was going to have the most interesting and productive solo career after R.E.M. split, but this is getting ridiculous. By which I mean the extent to which he is outpacing Mills and Stipe. Having said that, I find Luke Haines’s British eccentric schtick as boring as I once found Robyn Hitchcock’s “aren’t I wacky?” lyrics.
According to this review - " An incredible trip, from two artists and their band who are a match made…"
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Been out all day so just listening to this for the first time. It’s, as expected, quite odd. Sprawling, chaotic, weird. The first album took several listens and I think this one will too. But lots to like so far.
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I wish he had given all this music to a different singer, whether Corin Tucker or someone else - I simply don’t find the self-consciously “wacky” lyrics about The British Army on LSD interesting in any shape, form, or fashion - yet the music is pretty great.
I’m just getting to the end of listening it to the first time… I agree that under this with less mannered vocals is probably a much stronger album, but it’s long and by the end of the second disc it’s really quite a tedious listen
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Away from R.E.M., Peter is free to do what he wants - i.e., be spontaneous and super-productive - but, while records such as Around the Sun were hurt by the other two guys in the band over-thinking everything, Peter being given free rein to do things exactly the way he wants to do them can lead to bad results, too, as you note.
I respect Luke Haines and what he’s trying to do lyrically here, but, as I noted above, his self-consciously “zany” lyrics remind me too much of Robyn Hitchcock, whose lyrics I have never cared for. Of all the lyricists/singers Buck has worked with since R.E.M., Corin Tucker is by far the best, in my opinion.
Another review from At The Barrier -
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It’s getting very good reviews. The first album’s reviews were decent, but this one seems to be rated higher. I’m only a couple of listens in, and it is growing on me, but I prefer Beat Poetry so far. That said, it took me a long time to warm up to Beat Poetry, so I expect it’ll be the same with this one.
Re: Haines’ vocals/lyrics, they’re definitely an acquired taste. I quite like him. I’ve read his books (hilarious, and well worth checking out), so I feel like I kinda know where he’s coming from.
Waiting for them to announce tour dates…
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I waiting for my order to arrive, being in the southern hemisphere it takes longer. I knew nothing about Luke Haines before this record came out. Heard a few tracks on line & I really like what I’ve heard so far, and Peter Buck’s playing will always attract me to listen to a record he’s part of.
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I’m similar. I knew a few Auteurs songs. I remember when Radio 1 in the UK did an R.E.M. day during the Monster tour, they asked the band members to pick songs by current bands they liked. Peter Buck chose an Auteurs one.
Beat Poetry made me delve into his catalogue a bit. He did a concept album in the mid-90’s called Baader Meinhof. It’s brilliant. Quite hard to get hold of though. Can’t see it on any of the streaming services.
His books are also great, and well worth reading if you have an interest in the British music scene of the 90s/00s. He’s hilariously scathing about some of his contemporaries, though fortunately he doesn’t say anything mean about R.E.M.!
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I have to say, I prefer Beat Poetry to the new one
Me too so far, but this one is growing on me…
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