In celebration of the 40th anniversary of their debut EP, R.E.M. have announced the release of the five-song EP Chronic Town as a standalone CD for the first time in the U.S. on August 19 via I.R.S./UMe.
The album will also be available on picture disc vinyl and cassette.
Chronic Town was recorded in October 1981 at producer Mitch Easter's Drive-In Studios in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, a few months after the release of R.E.M.'s debut single, "Radio Free Europe." The EP featured tracks "Gardening at Night," "Wolves, Lower" and "1,000,000."
"There is a certain spare, almost live quality to the sound of this record, which makes it especially fascinating now," Easter writes of Chronic Town in a new essay. "You hear what R.E.M. actually sounded like in its early days, only slightly enhanced with a little studio fun. No other R.E.M. record is like Chronic Town, but you hear traces of it throughout the band's entire career."
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Entertainment News
May 08, 2026 15:50 ET Manufacturing and services sector survey results and labor market data from main economies were the highlight on the economics news front this week. Factory orders and jobs report dominated the news flow in the U.S. Similarly, industrial production data from German garnered attention in Europe. In Asia, purchasing managers’ survey results from China and the central bank decision from Australia were in focus.