's second album as a three-piece following the departure of drummer Bill Berry, and includes contributions from the band's touring members Joey Waronker, Scott McCaughey and Ken Stringfellow.

continue to experiment with electronic music as they had on their previous album Up (1998), utilizing keyboards and drum machines, while also retaining elements of their earlier sound.

The band did not tour in support of the album, with its promotion instead consisting mainly of television appearances, music videos, and a number of free concerts within major cities.

[12] While working on the song, the band moved through a variety of tempos and instrumental palettes before settling on the acoustic guitar-centric arrangement of the final version.

[11] The final version of "I've Been High" includes synth parts which were originally intended for "Imitation of Life"; these were replaced on the latter song by a keyboard solo by Stringfellow.

[12][10] "Disappear" evolved from a demo entitled "Underwater Acoustic", while other working titles included "32-Chord Song" (later "Summer Turns to High") and "Jimmy Webb on Mars" (later "All the Way to Reno").

[14] Once recording had completed, Stipe compared the process favorably to that of Up, calling it "remarkably happy" and stating the band had "become acclimated to new conditions and potentials.

[2][15] AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine has compared the album to U2's successful 2000 release All That You Can't Leave Behind, calling it a "conscious return to [R.E.M.

"[2] Buck has described the sound of Reveal as "warm and layered and analogue" while also having "a distance and breath to it that's modern and complete and liberating... like a beautiful vacuum.

[10] Additionally, Stipe utilizes a more relaxed singing style throughout,[10] while Stringfellow has noted a lyrical theme of "personal transformation", as well as "rising, not just from adversity, but your own boundaries and limitations, the little pitfalls and weaknesses that hold you back.

"[12] Many publications have noted multiple tracks on the album as being heavily influenced by the Beach Boys, particularly "Beat a Drum", "Summer Turns to High", and "Beachball".

[15][17][18] Leas considers Reveal to be a "deeply Californian" work including elements of psychedelia,[2] while its "big Stipe melodies" are intertwined with a "gorgeous, lush, aqueous sound unlike anything they [the band] did before or since.

[19] David Buckley, author of R.E.M Fiction: An Alternative Biography, states that the song references psychic and spiritual healing programs while relating to themes of self-improvement and self-help.

[12] Johnny Black lists "I've Been High" among the album's "gorgeously atmospheric ballads", while Buckley considers it to be "solemn, stately and emotional", with "subtle dance textures and beats" beneath Stipe's vocal.

"[12] For "All the Way to Reno (You're Gonna Be a Star)", Stipe wrote lyrics from the point of view of, according to Buckley, "an aspirant female on the road to fame.

[12] In R.E.M Fiction, Mills praises Tate's arrangements on the song, as he felt the mix of real and synthesized strings helped to alleviate their "saccharine nature.

"[10] Radiohead's then-recent album Kid A (2000), contained a song entitled "How to Disappear Completely", which made Stipe nervous about having possibly taken the idea.

[12] Austin Saalman of Under the Radar calls the song a "bleak piano ballad",[21] while Lindsay Zoladz of The New York Times has described the lyrical content as a "character study of a late-shift convenience store employee, who climbs to the building’s roof and has an awakening while staring at the night sky.

[12] Annie Jo Baker of PopMatters compares the guitar work on the verses to the Kinks,[20] while Saalman has declared the track to be "the band's warmest song to date.

"[23] Jordan Potter of Far Out describes "I'll Take the Rain" as "humble offering with an acoustic structure deftly adorned with orchestral strings and Ken Stringfellow’s keys.

[9][28] Its video, directed by Michael Moore was filmed at Bishop Ford High School in Brooklyn, New York, with a camera crew consisting of students.

[11][27] The album also debuted at number one in Italy (where it sold 130,000 copies in its first week, already reaching Platinum status), Austria, Ireland, Norway, and Switzerland, while it also rose to the top in Germany.

[27] In June, the band traveled to Los Angeles to record voiceovers for The Simpsons, while later in August, they appeared on Top of the Pops performing "All the Way to Reno".

[11][12] American promotion for Reveal was mainly limited to television performances, including appearances on The Late Show with David Letterman and MTV Unplugged.

However, he also notes the band could "knock together a heartrending anthem out of next to nothing"; Sweeting uses "I've Been High" as an example, calling it "possibly [the album's] finest moment" and praising its simplicity.

However, he also notes Mills' lowered presence on backing vocals, as well as opining that the album is "haunted by an ennui that's curious for a band that made their name by talking about the passion.

Heaton argues that the album has more in common with the band's earlier Fables of the Reconstruction (1985) rather than Up, due to a focus on "melancholy, midtempo pop" and a return to more enigmatic and "artsy" themes.

LeMay does state that despite some "terrible lyrics", "Imitation of Life" possesses "a catchy hook, and a sufficient degree of sonic variety", while "The Lifting" contains "an undeniably great melody.

"[1] Robert Christgau scored the album at a B− and named it his "dud of the month", feeling it was "not as bad as it first sounds, but also not as good as they thought when they released it, or they wouldn't have, I hope.

She also notes the mix of optimism and sadness throughout the record, stating it "invok[es] the kind of melancholic cheer shown by a parent watching their child grow up.