After spending years creating a more experimental album with 2020’s Gigaton, Pearl Jam are back with a return to their sonic roots with Dark Matter. However with a signature sound dating back to the 90’s, will Pearl Jam still be able to entertain with something new, or are they simply retreading old ground?
For all my jokes about Pearl Jam being instrumental and influential in 90’s music if only for making all the vowels sound the same (think ayy as a sound, and see where Cobain got it from) they truly are a stalwart of American rock, and were vital in the formation of grunge as we know it.
Despite, as Rolling Stone have previously stated, tearing apart their own fame, Pearl Jam remain one of the best-selling bands of all time, and undeniably popular. But with this being their 12th studio album since they arrived on scene in 1990, will they have run out of steam? Going into this listen, I genuinely wasn’t sure what to expect. Despite Pearl Jam having such a typically recognisable sound, (it’s the vowels!) their last entry, Gigaton, was something that almost managed to sound entirely new and a little experimental.
Recorded quickly at the home studio of a band member, which is surely still far more impressive than the majority of non-platinum selling musicians’ home studios, Dark Matter was produced and recorded quickly – at least by comparison to the years it took to produce Gigaton. However, with a return to an arguably more ‘recognisable’ sound, Pearl Jam sound more like themselves than in a long while. But this does mean that we’re left with something that sounds more like evolution rather than revolution.
The title track itself (Dark Matter) doesn’t set the most impressive tone, certainly not as what is touted as a leading single. Whilst it’s a solid rock song, worthy of inclusion in Pearl Jam’s already impressive back catalogue, there’s nothing new or exciting within it. This feels a little disappointing compared to their last album.
Unfortunately, another signature track, ‘Running’ suffers from much of the same issue. It’s still an entertaining song on the heavy side of punk, but there’s not enough in it to make it worthy of the lead single label – at least in this reviewer’s opinion. Thankfully, I can largely be done complaining now that I’ve gotten it out of my system. Despite a few tracks that largely merge into the back catalogue for the band – the rest of the album is still a solid offering.
Returning to an almost meandering sonic fog, ‘Upper Hands’ winds through metaphor and some gorgeous rock solo work from McCready. It’s a 6-minute song that you almost wish it lasted longer for how enjoyable it is – it’s comfortably one of their better offerings in recent memory.
Perhaps a surprising hit (at least amongst Pearl Jam fans, if my Reddit trawl is to be believed) is ‘Waiting for Stevie’. Name-wise, it’s a little confusing. The band managed to throw this belter together whilst literally waiting for Stevie Wonder, although the lyrics are of course deeper than just waiting for someone. It sounds and feels like early Pearl Jam. Whilst I try to move away from the ‘their earlier material is SO much better’ trope, in small doses this is no bad thing.
One thing that is worth noting however, having mulled it over through some of the less noteworthy tracks, is that Pearl Jam are realistically the last true bastion of grunge left. With some many contemporaries from that time either broken up, or unfortunately dead for different reasons, they are the longest running band of their style and era. So whilst this still isn’t the most inventive album going – it’s still ‘new’ grunge, and still a fun listen.
Author: Tom, Cardiff Store
