R.E.M.'s Next Album Due In 'A Year Or So'

NEW YORK (REM Official Website) - R.E.M. fans might have to wait a wee bit longer than they hoped for the band's next album. The latest update from the group's manager, Bertis Downs, has the disc coming out in "a matter of months (more likely a year or so)."

In the post on Tuesday (Oct. 22) on www.remhq.com, Downs also says that the band is enjoying working in Vancouver, B.C., right now and plans to finish recording the material in various cities. He writes, "The guys plan to work in bursts on this record -- a few weeks here, somewhere warmer in the winter, different in the spring, possibly some shows next summer?"

He continues, "Peter [Buck], Mike [Mills], and Michael [Stipe] are doing great individually and collectively, and all seem supercharged to be back in the studio, writing, playing, trying things out, getting sounds, working with Pat and Jamie (McCarthy and Candiloro), and while October everywhere is a pretty spectacular time of year, it seems especially crisp, cool, and vivid in British Columbia right about now. It's sort of like Seattle if Seattle was in Europe -- very cosmopolitan -- a true melting pot of cultures, and a wonderful city to explore on foot. Anyway ... they're off, early days, but good vibes about the next one."