I’ve waited a long time for this. New Pearl Jam!! MMMMMM….Good! But, should I just continue to gush here about how much I love it or should I at least attempt to be objective and unbiased? Yeah, I’m gonna gush about it….
Seriously, Pearl Jam may be single handedly saving rock music from the eternal abyss. Think about it–how many other rock bands out there are not only writing their own music, but have been doing so consistently for 18 years now all the while evolving their sound over and over again and owning it every time? A lot of bands fail to create their own sound from the first album on…and many can never seem to repeat that sound in a convincing way.
OK, so maybe I’m propping Eddie and the boys up on a high pedestal, I’ll admit. But, this is their 9th studio album and it is nothing like any of the albums before it…just like Pearl Jam was before it and Riot Act was before it and Binaural and so on (though I know that I don’t have to tell you because you already have them all……right?). The album clocks in at 36.5 minutes which makes it the tightest Pearl Jam album ever. No 5 minute guitar solos on this record. But that doesn’t take away from any of the songs. In fact, this album sounds like the guys from Pearl Jam have found a new place in life where they are at peace. Take the first single The Fixer (video embedded below). They lyrics of the song are about the want to fix things that appear broken…but the music isn’t angry punk influenced rock, rather it’s more poppy punk influenced rock. No need to adjust your eyes–you read that right. It’s poppy. It’s amazing and unlike anything else they’ve ever done. In fact, I’d say that the entire album is more poppy than their past works. And Eddie penned a very pretty song called Just Breathe that stays with the acoustic sound he used on the Into The Wild soundtrack. Some reviews have already remarked about the song being wedding worthy. No joke.
Then there’s the business side of this record that is really interesting. Since fulfilling their record contract with the major label (and J records with the last album) they are selling and promoting this album on their own. They negotiated contracts for distribution to independent record stores across the nation, its on iTunes, and they have an exclusive agreement with Target. Yes, that Target…the same place you buy your toothpaste. Now, I know it seems odd that the same guys who tried to sue Ticketmaster back in the day are selling their album through a big box store, but in a way it’s the ultimate way to stick it to the man. They not only got Target to agree to let them also sell it in independent record stores and on iTunes, but Target agreed to buy 10 million copies right off the bat. That’s more than the last record sold to this day. And they are doing it themselves–they are not paying a fee to a record company or any other middle man. It’s a sweet deal to be sure, but a lot of other bands wouldn’t be able to get a deal like this–a lot of them are just not big enough draws.
So, if you haven’t picked this up yet, what are you waiting for?!
Standout Tracks: The Fixer, Got Some, Supersonic, Just Breathe
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