R.E.M. will record its 14th studio album this spring with Irish producer Jacknife Lee, best known for his work on U2`s 'How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb' and Snow Patrol`s 'Final Straw.' The project is expected before the end of the year via Warner Bros.

The new album will be the follow-up to 2004`s 'Around the Sun,' which was afforded a chilly critical reception and has sold just 232,00 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

"I don`t think in terms of directions, but I think this next record might have a little more rock to it," bassist Mike Mills told Billboard.com last fall. "I like 'Around the Sun,' but I think, honestly, it turned out a little slower than we intended for it to, just in terms of the overall speed of songs."

On Monday (March 12), R.E.M. will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder. The group will perform at the New York ceremony with drummer Bill Berry, who retired from R.E.M. in 1997.

Taken from M&C