REM's new album, titled 'Around The Sun', is set for release on 4 Oct. This will be preceded by the single 'Leaving New York' on 27 Sep.
As previously reported, the band have said that this, their 13th album, is significantly influenced by world events. One of the songs on the album is 'Final Straw', the anti-war song previously released online around about the time of the Iraq attack. Bassist Mike Mills said: "We wanted to say something immediately about our displeasure with the invasion of Iraq".