R.E.M., “Accelerate”:

WITH a name like “Accelerate,” you’d expect forward-looking musical motion from R.E.M. Instead, the band heads back to familiar territory on its first album in four years. It’s as if they listened to their old records and rediscovered what made them great in the first place.

The result is the best overall album that R.E.M. has cranked out since “Automatic for the People” in 1992. Although brief – 11 songs, 36 minutes – the band gets it right, with songs powered by speedy guitar-jangle, lots of hypnotic organ swirls and Michael Stipe’s trademark growl-and-grit voice.

There’s a hefty dose of politics in the lyrics, but you don’t feel like Stipe is lecturing. He’s a wiseguy-provocateur who uses tunes like “Horse to Water” and “Houston” to question authority in general. Another old theme that’s welcome here is R.E.M.’s hedonism.

Years ago, they sang “It’s the end of the world as we know it/and I feel fine.” That carefree doomsday attitude is reprised in the last song on the new album, wherein Stipe brightly shouts above a rock foundation: “Death is pretty final, I’m collecting vinyl. I’m gonna DJ at the end of the world.” The upbeat swing of “I’m Gonna DJ” has us convinced Stipe’s feeling fine . . . again. Love it.