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I.R.S./UME

R.E.M. Will Reissue their Debut EP for Its 40th Anniversary

This will mark ‘Chronic Town’s debut on CD

Pitcfork and other sources are reporting that R.E.M. are reissuing their debut EP, Chronic Town, on CD, picture disc, and cassette. The new release is due out August 19 (via I.R.S./UMe). The follow-up to the band’s breakout 1981 single “Radio Free Europe,” Chronic Town features the classic tracks “Gardening at Night,” “Wolves,” and more. Listen to the EP below.

Of the reissue, original producer Mitch Easter— who wrote the liner notes for the new pressing —said in a statement: “One might fancifully say that Chronic Town was the sound of an expedition, ready for anything, setting forth. If R.E.M.’s ‘Radio Free Europe’ single was a signpost, the Chronic Town EP was the atlas.”

Over the last two years, R.E.M. have shared 25th anniversary reissues of their albums New Adventures in Hi-Fi and Monster.

In September last year, R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe confirmed that the band would never reunite, insisting that their break-up in 2011 was permanent.

“We will never reunite. We decided when we split up that that would just be really tacky and probably money-grabbing, which might be the impetus for a lot of bands to get back together. We don’t really need that, and I’m really happy that we just have the legacy of the 32 years of work that we have,” he told All Of It.

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