There are large assemblages of people for whom R.E.M was “the band” – the band that changed the way they listened to music; the band that made them care about music; the band that has gone on to define much of their existence as a music fan. Those people have all been collectively holding their breath and hoping that New Adventures in Hi-Fi wasn’t the last great R.E.M record. Thankfully, it wasn’t. Collapse Into Now is the gorgeous sound of the collective sigh of relief of an entire generation of R.E.M fans.