Pearl Jam: Pearl Jam
The release of a new Pearl Jam album always makes me feel a little apprehensive since the band are notorious for being experimental and unpredictable in their sound, doing things their way with little obvious regard for outside criticism. Futhermore their previous effort, Riot Act, was quite a sedate and restful affair that suggested the unthinkable: PJ are getting old. Hinting at a new start, their latest effort is self-titled; it seems to say simply: We are Pearl Jam. This is Pearl Jam.
Life Wasted is undoubtedly their best example of an opening track in one hell of a long time. Eddie Vedder’s vocals sound superb, Matt Cameron’s drumming is spot on and it flings the record skyward straight away. The single Worldwide Suicide (released, as always, unconventionally, this time in free mp3 dowload) achieves the difficult feat of conveying a political message that sounds meaningful and convincing; PJ have spent most of their careers tackling big issues that threaten to make them sound insincere or preachy (perhaps the initial scepticism from the music industry during the hyped ‘grunge’ days still haunts them) but they have never sounded as urgent or hard-hitting as they do here.
Comatose, Severed Hand and Marker in the Sand are, musically, PJ at their hard-rocking best. Perhaps due to their deliberately loose and lo-fi style born from a sound that is polished to the point of effortlessness, the dual efforts of Stone Gossard and Mike McCready on guitar are often underrated. So too is the jazz-tinged drumming of former Soundgarden sticksman Matt Cameron; the band have seen more drummers pass through their ranks over the years than Spinal tap but he seems especially comfortable in his role and also earns the award of staying longer than any of his predecessors!
The wistful Parachutes signals the more relaxed second half which nevertheless delivers some blistering rock moments in between the acoustic-driven introspection (which includes echoes of their long-term mentor Neil Young). Vedder’s vocal range is most evident at times like these, as his powerful Seattle howl settles into a rich croon that has matured with age; he is still a charismatic and talented frontman as well as competent songwriter. The power chords of Big Wave will keep rockers satisfied but the political leanings of Unemployable and Army Reserve reiterate Riot Act’s thinly-veiled dissatisfaction with the Bush administration.
Gone and Come Back maintain the crucial balance between the political and the personal, simultaneously adding a variety of mood and tempo; as a result the album as a whole does not meander in the same way that No Code did and is more consistent in quality and is more accessible than Vitalogy. Sure, they are still individual with their own quirks as the Wasted Reprise intermission and occasional off-kilter chord changes elsewhere show, but this record hits the spot confidently. Perhaps because of the vitriol and energy evident during its runtime, the closing track, Inside Job, is a deceptively powerful affair that slowly builds up from a quiet intro to a conclusion that carries more clout than you’d expect: the backwards-looped elecric guitar drifts in over the acoustic one, with smatterings of piano before Vedder’s soaring vocals and wailing guitar solos carry the song, and the album, to its satisfying conclusion before a chiming ‘hidden’ coda.
In Summary
Their self-titled record marks a spectacular return to form: it rocks harder, it is more consistent and is more assured than any of their efforts of recent years. Pearl Jam harks back to their glory days - I’d even go as far to say that it is their finest album since Vs. One thing is clear above all though: Pearl Jam are still relevant and can still take on their more recent rivals. Highly recommended.
Tracklisting
- Life Wasted
- World Wide Suicide
- Comaose
- Severed Hand
- Marker in the Sand
- Parachutes
- Unemployable
- Big Wave
- Gone
- Wasted Reprise
- Army Reserve
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