May 16, 2009 11:09

REM begin work on new material

Peter Buck says band want to "excite" Michael Stipe

REM have begun work on new material.

Guitarist Peter Buck and bassist Mike Mills have tentatively demoed 14 tracks for the follow-up to last year's 'Accelerate' LP, according to Pitchfork.

The pair have been working on the songs with producer Jacknife Lee in Portland, without singer Michael Stipe.

"I'm not even sure you could say we've started the record. But Mike [Mills] and I write all the time, and I had a bunch of songs we were going over during soundcheck on the last tour," Buck told the website.

The songs have a "broader" sound than the band's last album, Buck revealed.

"There are some really pretty acoustic things, some really total noisy rock, and some kind of poppy stuff."

However, the material may only see the light of day if Stipe is impressed when he hears it.

"To a certain degree, when we are doing this stuff, we are doing this to excite Michael about getting inspired. For him, he really wants to hear something and be inspired to sing something," Buck concluded.

The band plan to properly record the album with producer Jacknife Lee later this year.