Dance of the Clairvoyants

[Bammer]

it’s amazing and perhaps quite a miracle that Ed can actually sing or speak at all these days. He pushed it to the extreme for a very long time.

This is what makes Papa Roach all the more impressive. Still going strong.

[VinylGuy]

Stone plays bass in this one?? Fuuuuuuuck...

Can't wait to watch Stone shake his ass as he grooves on that bass.

I mean, Stone said he laid down the bass in studio. I suspect live it will be a different story.

Maybe they keep him on bass....like Smile.

[scrub12]

The most exciting part might be how amped Jeff and Stone appear to be. Jeff is expected but it feels like Stone as been out of it for a decade, so to hear legitimate excitement from him is a good sign.

[JuanHamm]

Lenny loves it

[McParadigm]

I think Ed sounds great here. It’s a production style that supports his voice, rather than exposing its weaknesses. He isn’t alternating between keeping up and crooning, which is what he’s usually up these days, but is actually trying to express. He isn’t treating his vocal as something you the audience get to admire...it just sounds so much less ego-driven and so much more obedient to the song.

He’s as old as Roger Daltry was when The Who played the 9/11 tribute show. This song, as a creative risk and as a performance, is just great as far as I’m concerned.

Spoiler: show

Autocorrect just tried to correct that to “this is great as far as fatalism.” Read into that what you will.

[mikejasond]

As for the song. I really wish McCready hit that guitar break harder but I’m excited for the live version because it’ll likely be louder live

[Brett]

Okay, I'm certainly impressed by this. Almost everything I could say has probably already been said in eloquent takes from Trag, PhatJ, Strat, Kevin Davis, McP, and others, but I'll echo in anyway.

This is very left-field for Pearl Jam, having almost no precedence in their catalog, but that's not a bad thing. Others have pointed out that it's a post-punk, new-wave pastiche as if that's an insult, but this is a band that has made a career of dabbling in various approximations of other styles while also incorporating them into their general DNA. This just might be the furthest afield they've gone from their classic rock, punk, and folk roots.

The production is stellar and roomy even with its more contemporary tendencies. The arrangements are uncluttered, which is fantastic for the band at this point in their career. One guitar, one bass, one keyboard, the drums, and the vocals. And, hallelujah, the vocals aren't awful, even if their are a few points where Eddie lets his modern crutches creep through. Otherwise, this is a very comfortable place for him, playing to what strengths he has left. It's far better than I was expecting, and the growly parts of the first verse are one of the highlights. Also, is it just me, or are there some neat electronic bongo fills underneath the main drums in the second verse?

I think things get a little wordy as the song goes on, which is a common criticism of the modern Pearl Jam lyrical style, and I'm not as into the ending as I am the rest of the song, but that could change with time. And, man, what a wonderful thing it is to feel like this is a Pearl Jam song that could grow with time. That hasn't happened in a long time, and right now I've got the album sitting in my online shopping cart while I debate pulling the trigger. It would be the first new Pearl Jam album I've bought since Riot Act. I'm just worried this might be a one off thing and the rest of the album a logical extension of Lightning Bolt.

[Thejambi]

Instant classic!

[Bi_3]

It's great that they dropped the whole Strokes cover band thing, but this song... it doesnt fit. Unless the shows are slowed down to a crawl this is a set killer with below average lyrics and a different (for PJ) but still derivative sound. Ed sounds so weak here, I just dont get the love.

Eddie sounds about like I'd expect him to sound on a studio recording in 2020 -- when I think of how Eddie's voice has declined over the years, I always think mainly of live performances, of him trying to hiccup and wheeze his way through "Not For You" and "State of Love and Trust." He definitely sounds better than that here, if only because this is not a song that was originally built for an entirely different set of vocal capabilities. But I'm with you -- in all the ways that this song has defied my expectations, Eddie's voice isn't one of them; I think the current physical limitations of his voice are still on full display here, though certainly tempered by the controlled environment of a recording studio.

That said, I know what obstacles are reasonable to expect them to overcome and which ones aren't. Ditching their producer and trying on some new musical sounds is reasonable; expecting Eddie to reverse-age 20 years is not. So, I'm rolling with it.

Maybe what I had hoped for was more like Mad Season with Ed on vocals. Or an album filled with songs like NAIS or Education (but yeah, no more SOLAT or Not For You type grunge screamers in the studio). I'm still way more optimistic about this album given that this is the lead single and clearly not the PRAMG type track that CDM was.

[scrub12]

Lots of upset people saying “This isn’t the Pearl Jam I’ve loved for 20+ years” on social media. That’s a good sign.

[Strat]

The guitar riff is way out of mikes wheelhouse too. Good on him.

[WaitingForBluey]

Still can't believe that riff is Mike and not Stone

[The Argonaut]

I like this song better today than I did yesterday

[VinylGuy]

Mike is on fire here.

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[evenslow]

Damn. When mikes guitar kicks and Ed lays into the “save your predictions” - right there is classic spine tingling pj. Just love that.

yes yes yes

[PHATJ]

This is Stone's intro to the track. Interesting stuff.

Matt is playing a live kit mixed with an electronic hi-hat.

Stone is genuinely really excited about this song. I’m so happy that the band is invigorated and proud of something they created together. Hopefully that means there’s a continued effort of collaboration throughout Gigaton.

[swan]

Wish I had time to go back & read every page of this thread, what an exciting time.

I'm fucking loving this song. So happy to be proven wrong as a once-obsessive fan who didn't think they had anything interesting left in them.

I do feel like it has the potential to translate in to a monster in the live setting. It could also fall flat live, who knows?

This might get me laughed out of the thread, but it reminds me a little bit of the latest Sleater-Kinney record in terms of departure from previous sounds & potential to alienate fans who love the older work.

[evenslow]

there's some incredible production/mixing work going on during the last minute with all the different voices moving in and out, coming to the fore and falling away. then at one point in my left ear i hear someone yelling "stand back!" so fucking cool.

stand back when the spirit comes
mixed with
i know the girls wanna dance...
mixed with
drown in the river

wow

[pnjguy]

The Song:
I don’t know where I’ll land on if I like the song or not, but it’s a grower for sure. Ed’s vocals are more tolerable upon multiple listens. Talking Head’s, yes, but more importantly, he’s singing in range. The dynamic mic thought seems to be spot on. I’m not hearing as much of the breathy shit as past albums. Wished he moaned and groaned less, but it is what it is. Ed did well here. Stoney on the bass is something I really like. I wonder if he has any other songs where he’s on the bass. It really gives the band another dimension. Maybe the most interesting Mike performance for me in a while. He’s giving the song space and I love his tone. What he’s done hear with basically 2 notes is really impressive. Nothing really brilliant on Jeff’s synth, but he doesn’t have to be. It’s just a nice add. Matt really shines here and again establishes that he’s the best performer and most interesting creative force in the band. The production is miles better than the last 3-4 albums. Ed’s back to being more of one of the instruments again instead of a focus of every song. This is a headphone song, hopefully it’ll be a headphone album.

Outlook:
More importantly, this has me more intrigued for the new album than I could have ever imagined. I don’t know if this is the first song they recorded but like other’s have said around here, this song may represent a turn to something new for them. Are guys playing different instruments than their used to? Is this a concept album? Have they found a new stream of creativity because of all this? I don’t know what to expect and that’s really nice for a band in their 30th year. Fuck it, I’m ready to dive in to whatever their trying to do here.