Like Paul Simon’s latest, R.E.M.’s Collapse Into Now is another album I reviewed four months ago. At the time I praised it as not quite a return to form but at least a reminder of the band’s heyday.

Revisiting it now, I stand by that assessment, especially when comparing the disc to the band’s other output over the past decade. But I can’t say I’ve returned to Collapse Into Now very often since first putting it into heavy rotation when I bought it.

I’ve always said that I know how I really feel about a movie only after a lot of time has passed (and generally after seeing it more than once). The same holds true for albums. I listen to new CDs pretty much on repeat when I first get them, but only time reveals whether I’ll reach for them frequently after the new album smell is gone.

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