Release date: 09/09/1996 | Length: 3:28 | Release: New Adventures in Hi-Fi | SuE: #171

A hailstorm brought you back to me

On an album that certainly takes its time, it’s nice to have a few songs that just get straight to the point. Departure is one of those, coming in at a brisk three minutes 28 and drastically picking up the pace of New Adventures in Hi-Fi.

It’s a guitar riff of intent from Peter Buck followed by some killer Bill Berry drum rolls that makes the song one of the rock ‘n’ roll highlights from R.E.M.’s vast tenth album. It’s ostensibly loud but still sounds quite flat, perhaps a by-product of this album being recorded whilst on tour for Monster in 1995, with Departure being done in Michigan.

The song debuted in early 1995 in Spain, and referenced in the opening line: “Just arrived Singapore San Sebastian Spain 26 hour trip”. After a long touring hiatus during their commercial peak, R.E.M. returned to the road with aplomb, hopping from country to country and continent to continent. I believe the band wanted to challenge themselves by writing on the road, rather than the traditional studio sit-in sessions, so much of New Adventures in Hi-Fi has themes of travel and burn-out. Michael Stipe’s delivers rapid verses of disconnect (“A hailstorm brought you back to me”), destruction (“A bus plunge avalanche RV vinegar cider”) and despair (“But there is so much that I can’t do yeah”), in contrast to the calmer simplicity of the chorus.

For a band usually dabbling in the intricate, Departure is one of R.E.M.’s greatest no-frills rock songs, but it’s still a long way off the top.