Pearl Jam
Dark Matter
★★★★
REPUBLIC
First Iggy Pop, Ozzy Osbourne and The Rolling Stones: now Pearl Jam are the latest rock institution to plug into erstwhile Justin Bieber producer Andrew Watt, a younger dude adept at refurbishing old school for the earbud generation.
That Dark Matter succeeds so well is due to the band focusing their creative energy, just as Watt’s sonic Nutribullet technique condenses PJ’s core rumble into punchy blasts. “We used to dance, we had our own scene,” hollers Eddie Vedder on opener Scared Of Fear, its taut-rocking meld of The Wipers and Big Star setting a tone for the manic melancholy that surges throughout these 11 songs.
Wreckage finds them “surrounded by the remnants”, a Tom Petty-styled reckoning with life, blessed with rueful harmony and hard-earned wisdom, while Got To Give is Pearl Jam’s latest and maybe greatest hymn to people power. “I’ll be the last one standing,” Vedder affirms. On this form, anything’s possible.
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READ MORE: Every Pearl Jam Album Ranked!
TRACKLIST:
Scared of Fear
React, Respond
Wreckage
Dark Matter
Won’t Tell
Upper Hand
Waiting for Stevie
Running
Something Special
Got to Give
Setting Sun
Dark Matter is out now on Republic.
Listen/Buy: Spotify | Apple Music | Amazon | Rough Trade | HMV
Pearl Jam’s Dark Matter tour begins on May 4 at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver. Full list of dates below, more info and tickets HERE.
May 04 Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena
May 06 Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena
May 10 Portland, OR Moda Center
May 13 Sacramento, CA Golden 1 Center
May 16 Las Vegas, NV MGM Grand Garden Arena
May 18 Las Vegas, NV MGM Grand Garden Arena
May 21 Los Angeles, CA Kia Forum
May 22 Los Angeles, CA Kia Forum
May 25** Napa Valley, CA BottleRock Festival
May 28 Seattle, WA Climate Pledge Arena
May 30 Seattle, WA Climate Pledge Arena
Jun 22 Dublin, IE Marlay Park
Jun 25 Manchester, UK Manchester Co-Op Live
Jun 29 London, UK Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Jul 02 Berlin, DE Waldbühne
Jul 03 Berlin, DE Waldbühne
Jul 06 Barcelona, ES Palau Sant Jordi
Jul 08 Barcelona, ES Palau Sant Jordi
Jul 11** Madrid, SE Mad Cool Festival
Jul 13** Lisbon, PT NOS Alive Festival
Aug 22 Missoula, MT Washington-Grizzly Stadium
Aug 26* Indianapolis, IN Ruoff Music Center
Aug 29 Chicago, IL Wrigley Field
Aug 31 Chicago, IL Wrigley Field
Sep 03 New York, NY Madison Square Garden
Sep 04 New York, NY Madison Square Garden
Sep 07 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center
Sep 09 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center
Sep 12 Baltimore, MD CFG Bank Arena
Sep 15 Boston, MA Fenway Park
Sep 17 Boston, MA Fenway Park
Nov 08 Auckland, NZ Go Media Stadium Mt Smart
Nov 13 Gold Coast, AU Heritage Bank Stadium
Nov 16 Melbourne, AU Marvel Stadium
Nov 21 Sydney, AU Giants Stadium
* Rescheduled date from 2022
** Festival dates are already on sale
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