Gigaton: Official album thread

[Ms Harmless]

for me, a major reason I like the album a lot is that it doesn't leave me thinking "oh well, at least these songs have potential live"; I honestly don't care either way, for the first time in a long time, because I feel like they created something of worth as a studio album with its own artistic vision, not just a quickly dashed off excuse to tour

Totally agree.

I am with you on this. At this point i'd personally rather have a really great album that takes them out of their comfort zone than one that will for sure translate well (or easier!) live.

yep!

[VinylGuy]

Blasted this one on vinyl super loud.

What a great fucking ride

[epilogue]

So good. Very different from what they've been doing

[VinylGuy]

i loved the part from 7 0 clock to Take the long way

[Got Some]

The first four songs are still my fav.

Alright has really grown on me. Buckle Up not so much.

Retrograde is still a damn good song.

River Cross is a beautiful closer.

Never Destination/Take The Long Way is still a nuce little pairing of songs.

I Love this album. Hopefully Gigaton 2 is out sooner than 2026.

[VinylGuy]

Alright remains as the only one i dont really care about.

[Monkey_Driven]

Retrograde remains as the only one i dont really care about.

[VinylGuy]

Retrograde started as the one i didnt liked, it seemed like something of LB. Then, it kinda clicked and i really liked it....these days is a song i like but dont need to hear.

[guitar_davey]

The vocals aren't fast, the range isn't stretching. Seems tailor made for him right now.

I feel like this is accurate.

Songs like GSMF and Getaway have those parts where Eddie ends up screeching and it just doesn't work live, even tuned down. The songs on Gigaton don't have that problem, to my ears. When PJ songs are wordy and have a lot of high notes, Ed struggles. I can not wait to hear the new ones live. I am cautiously optimistic.

[VinylGuy]

there are plenty moments on Gigaton that im not sure he will be able to pull it off live...specially Who Ever Said.

[JuanHamm]

I want to hear them cover It's the end of the world

[liebzz]

There’s 1129 pages of thoughts on this album, and I am sure this was put in there somewhere along the way - probably multiple times…

Hearing this again yesterday, I still think this is a great album. We’ve sliced and diced Pearl Jam every which way here over the years for sure, but by simply cutting this band in half as nearly two different bands, the Pearl Jam 1990-2005 that fought early on to find its sound (Ten, Vs., Vitalogy), then work on expanding to that definition (No Code, Yield, Binaural, Riot Act) and this current form of Pearl Jam (2006-2021) where the band seems to sit back on a mostly static sound or space to exist in (Pearl Jam, Backspacer, Lightning Bolt, Gigaton), it seems like Pearl Jam here found that sweet spot, where they hit all the points while delivering some new things, but without any drastic expansion of what they do. It’s a mastering of their static era rather than exploring new ground. It’s the greatest Pearl Jam record in this phase of the band. I think that’s worth noting, even if it doesn’t blow down the doors like Ten or blow your mind like Vitalogy or Binaural (depending on the listener). I think that’s at least worth a lot.

[Bi_3]

There’s 1129 pages of thoughts on this album, and I am sure this was put in there somewhere along the way - probably multiple times…

Hearing this again yesterday, I still think this is a great album. We’ve sliced and diced Pearl Jam every which way here over the years for sure, but by simply cutting this band in half as nearly two different bands, the Pearl Jam 1990-2005 that fought early on to find its sound (Ten, Vs., Vitalogy), then work on expanding to that definition (No Code, Yield, Binaural, Riot Act) and this current form of Pearl Jam (2006-2021) where the band seems to sit back on a mostly static sound or space to exist in (Pearl Jam, Backspacer, Lightning Bolt, Gigaton), it seems like Pearl Jam here found that sweet spot, where they hit all the points while delivering some new things, but without any drastic expansion of what they do. It’s a mastering of their static era rather than exploring new ground. It’s the greatest Pearl Jam record in this phase of the band. I think that’s worth noting, even if it doesn’t blow down the doors like Ten or blow your mind like Vitalogy or Binaural (depending on the listener). I think that’s at least worth a lot.

Very much this.

[Jaeti]

There’s 1129 pages of thoughts on this album, and I am sure this was put in there somewhere along the way - probably multiple times…

Hearing this again yesterday, I still think this is a great album. We’ve sliced and diced Pearl Jam every which way here over the years for sure, but by simply cutting this band in half as nearly two different bands, the Pearl Jam 1990-2005 that fought early on to find its sound (Ten, Vs., Vitalogy), then work on expanding to that definition (No Code, Yield, Binaural, Riot Act) and this current form of Pearl Jam (2006-2021) where the band seems to sit back on a mostly static sound or space to exist in (Pearl Jam, Backspacer, Lightning Bolt, Gigaton), it seems like Pearl Jam here found that sweet spot, where they hit all the points while delivering some new things, but without any drastic expansion of what they do. It’s a mastering of their static era rather than exploring new ground. It’s the greatest Pearl Jam record in this phase of the band. I think that’s worth noting, even if it doesn’t blow down the doors like Ten or blow your mind like Vitalogy or Binaural (depending on the listener). I think that’s at least worth a lot.

Very much this.

[Bammer]

To be fair, a few of the pages were pre-release.

[Jaeti]

Hadn't actually listened to any of these songs for a few months. Popped on Seven O'Clock and Comes Then Goes on a short drive yesterday. Still wonderful stuff.

[Jaeti]

Hadn't actually listened to any of these songs for a few months. Popped on Seven O'Clock and Comes Then Goes on a short drive yesterday. Still wonderful stuff.

So I decided to just run through the whole thing. Of the songs I loved, I still love them. Nothing has a lost a step.

And the time apart helped bump Never Destination up a tick, at least on this listen. It had probably trended its way toward my least-favorite on the album as of a few months ago (though a 3-star least favorite).

[Thurman Murman]

There’s 1129 pages of thoughts on this album, and I am sure this was put in there somewhere along the way - probably multiple times…

Hearing this again yesterday, I still think this is a great album. We’ve sliced and diced Pearl Jam every which way here over the years for sure, but by simply cutting this band in half as nearly two different bands, the Pearl Jam 1990-2005 that fought early on to find its sound (Ten, Vs., Vitalogy), then work on expanding to that definition (No Code, Yield, Binaural, Riot Act) and this current form of Pearl Jam (2006-2021) where the band seems to sit back on a mostly static sound or space to exist in (Pearl Jam, Backspacer, Lightning Bolt, Gigaton), it seems like Pearl Jam here found that sweet spot, where they hit all the points while delivering some new things, but without any drastic expansion of what they do. It’s a mastering of their static era rather than exploring new ground. It’s the greatest Pearl Jam record in this phase of the band. I think that’s worth noting, even if it doesn’t blow down the doors like Ten or blow your mind like Vitalogy or Binaural (depending on the listener). I think that’s at least worth a lot.

I agree with all of this. We are 30 years in to this bands existence.....frankly we are spoiled that they can still put out an album as solid as Gigaton.

[guitar_davey]

So how many Gigaton tunes are going to get played this weekend?

My guess, based on absolutely nothing...

Who Ever Said, Superblood Wolfmoon, DOTC, Quick Escape, Seven O'Clock, Retrograde?

[stip]

stone was saying a year and a half ago that he was having trouble with SBWM. I wonder if he figured it out yet