Which record label released R.E.M.'s Chronic Town EP?

I.R.S. Records released R.E.M.’s “Chronic Town” EP. It arrived on August 24, 1982, marking the band’s first release for the label.

“Chronic Town” was R.E.M.’s debut extended play and contained five songs, including “Wolves, Lower,” “Gardening at Night,” and “Carnival of Sorts (Boxcars).” The material was recorded at Drive-In Studio in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with Mitch Easter producing and engineering alongside the band.

The release came after R.E.M.’s debut single, “Radio Free Europe,” had attracted attention through the independent label Hib-Tone. The band originally considered issuing the EP through a proposed label called Dasht Hopes, but I.R.S. Records signed the group and became its American home for the rest of the 1980s.

The main confusion concerns distribution. I.R.S. released the EP, while A&M handled distribution for much of I.R.S.’s pre-1985 catalog. Hib-Tone was associated with the earlier single, not with “Chronic Town” itself. The EP sold about 20,000 copies in its first year and helped establish R.E.M.’s early college-rock following.