R.E.M. Announce 40th Anniversary Reissue of Debut EP

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. Read Pitchfork’s feature “Michael Stipe on the Music That Made Him.”