Dark Matter (song)

[epilogue]

I don't have the knowledge or vocabulary to articulate how this song "sounds." I don't know shit about engineering or mixing or overall production techniques. My ears aren't trained for all of that. So I defer to others. But all I can say is whatever is or isn't going on I do quite like the way this sounds in my headphones. I'm not sure it sounds as good to my ear as DotC, for example. But nothing about it is scraping or pinching my ear the way Backspacer and LB do. Or Earthling, for that matter. Which sounds loud and boxed in to me.

Maybe the context of the whole album changes how I hear it but right now I think it sounds really nice.

[RockPusher]

Yes, I have listened to it on 4 or 5 different sound systems now (never just my phone speaker lol) and it sounds great on all of them. Best though is headphones.

Would you please rank those different sound systems performance? From worst to first?

No, but I will tell you that first was a tie between divisive car brand's factory audio and my Sennheiser cans.

[Coach]

Yes, I have listened to it on 4 or 5 different sound systems now (never just my phone speaker lol) and it sounds great on all of them. Best though is headphones.

Would you please rank those different sound systems performance? From worst to first?

No, but I will tell you that first was a tie between divisive car brand's factory audio and my Sennheiser cans.

Technically, that's a ranking so we will take it.


Best sound system to listen to Dark Matter on:

1. Car brand factory audio and Sennheiser cans (tie)

[Kevin Davis]

Nobody else thinks this would fit right in with Lightning Bolt? Sounds so slick and plasticky

It's on the same end of the spectrum for sure. Though LB, in addition to sounding slick and plasticky, also felt impotent -- flat, dull, devoid of life, everything de-emphasized in the service of prioritizing Eddie's voice, etc. Purely in terms of gloss, sparkle and polish, I think "Dark Matter" is more overcooked than LB. But I'm also feeling a presence -- a brawn, a force, a weight -- that none of the songs on LB possess, and I don't just think it's the aggressive mixing/mastering. I do think there is a difference between polishing something so that it sparkles, and scrubbing it so much that the finish comes off; this feels like the latter to me, where LB feels like the latter. I wouldn't actively choose either production style personally, but if forced to make a choice...

So many of the songs on LB also just had this musically lost, melodically inept gracelessness to them that made them unsatisfying in ways that went beyond just the sound of the record. I don't feel that here -- the composition feels a lot more chiseled by comparison, more musically natural, with a better integration between the band's performance and Eddie's.

All of this could just be because I'm listening from a distance that is far greater than it was when LB came out in 2013, and I'm just hearing what I like and giving the rest a pass. It's a pretty happy place to listen from, honestly.

great post

Agreed.

KD nails it.

Thanks!

It would have been better if I didn’t use a former/latter comparison and say both sounded like the latter. I meant to say “DM” sounds like the former!

[Coach]

mmmm rankings

[liebzz]

I will just note, for all the crap we post about Andrew Watt and the variety of production nuances that he allegedly botches, I can make the following observations:

Of the albums he has produced, I have listened to Iggy Pop’s, Ozzy Osbourne’s, The Stones’, Eddie Vedder’s, and now this song. Whatever the production, I liked every one of those albums, and the new song. I think that means whatever faults are there, it’s working so far. Just my 2 cents.

[Coach]

How are the drums?

[epilogue]

It was a bold choice to forgo drums on the lead single.

[Ms Harmless]

It was a bold choice to forgo drums on the lead single.

prominent triangle though and that is something I respect

[Ms Harmless]

Nobody else thinks this would fit right in with Lightning Bolt? Sounds so slick and plasticky

It's on the same end of the spectrum for sure. Though LB, in addition to sounding slick and plasticky, also felt impotent -- flat, dull, devoid of life, everything de-emphasized in the service of prioritizing Eddie's voice, etc. Purely in terms of gloss, sparkle and polish, I think "Dark Matter" is more overcooked than LB. But I'm also feeling a presence -- a brawn, a force, a weight -- that none of the songs on LB possess, and I don't just think it's the aggressive mixing/mastering. I do think there is a difference between polishing something so that it sparkles, and scrubbing it so much that the finish comes off; this feels like the latter to me, where LB feels like the latter. I wouldn't actively choose either production style personally, but if forced to make a choice...

So many of the songs on LB also just had this musically lost, melodically inept gracelessness to them that made them unsatisfying in ways that went beyond just the sound of the record. I don't feel that here -- the composition feels a lot more chiseled by comparison, more musically natural, with a better integration between the band's performance and Eddie's.

All of this could just be because I'm listening from a distance that is far greater than it was when LB came out in 2013, and I'm just hearing what I like and giving the rest a pass. It's a pretty happy place to listen from, honestly.

great post

Agreed.

KD nails it.

Thanks!

It would have been better if I didn’t use a former/latter comparison and say both sounded like the latter. I meant to say “DM” sounds like the former!

those of us who love you knew what you meant

[digster]

I don't have the knowledge or vocabulary to articulate how this song "sounds." I don't know shit about engineering or mixing or overall production techniques. My ears aren't trained for all of that. So I defer to others. But all I can say is whatever is or isn't going on I do quite like the way this sounds in my headphones. I'm not sure it sounds as good to my ear as DotC, for example. But nothing about it is scraping or pinching my ear the way Backspacer and LB do. Or Earthling, for that matter. Which sounds loud and boxed in to me.

Maybe the context of the whole album changes how I hear it but right now I think it sounds really nice.

I think that is about where I stand, in terms of the sound; it's a clear step up for me from LB and Backspacer, and a clear step down from Gigaton (which is probably where I'd slot it in terms of how much I like the song as well, which is just underlining the fact that it's hard to bifurcate a song's sound and its songwriting).

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[epilogue]

It was a bold choice to forgo drums on the lead single.

prominent triangle though and that is something I respect

And is that a xylophone at 2:14?

[Ms Harmless]

It was a bold choice to forgo drums on the lead single.

prominent triangle though and that is something I respect

And is that a xylophone at 2:14?

yes return to form

[spike]

also what faults

watt is the famous producer not trag

[coptheriotact]

but I just barely ever notice or think about production value when listening to music

For me, The mix /master IS is the music, I try to listen with my ears rather than my mind. I don’t really care if Eds singing about trump or his daughters, he could sing in Spanish.same with riffs and solos. If the mix is good, Mikes solo will be good etc.

It’s what makes the album have its identity. if it doesn’t sound rewarding to listen to, I would rather invest my time in something else,

I probably would listen to some lightning bolt tracks occasionally IF they weren’t mixed ans released on lightning bolt .. maybe

[lecherouslittlestump]

Fantastic writeup stip.

+1

[Force Of Nature]

I will just note, for all the crap we post about Andrew Watt and the variety of production nuances that he allegedly botches, I can make the following observations:

Of the albums he has produced, I have listened to Iggy Pop’s, Ozzy Osbourne’s, The Stones’, Eddie Vedder’s, and now this song. Whatever the production, I liked every one of those albums, and the new song. I think that means whatever faults are there, it’s working so far. Just my 2 cents.

For the record, I think it's perfectly reasonable to not care about production.

Production is down the list in things I care about. The music, the lyrics, the vocals, whether I like the overall song won’t be affected by production. Especially as I’ll listen to live boots as well which don’t have the studio production magic anyway

[RockPusher]

I think we can all agree this mix is a step up from the metal door leak.

[stip]

I don't have the knowledge or vocabulary to articulate how this song "sounds." I don't know shit about engineering or mixing or overall production techniques. My ears aren't trained for all of that. So I defer to others. But all I can say is whatever is or isn't going on I do quite like the way this sounds in my headphones. I'm not sure it sounds as good to my ear as DotC, for example. But nothing about it is scraping or pinching my ear the way Backspacer and LB do. Or Earthling, for that matter. Which sounds loud and boxed in to me.

Maybe the context of the whole album changes how I hear it but right now I think it sounds really nice.

I like listening to the production folks yammer on. I dont have the vocabulary to express what I'm hearing the way they do, and on a good day they help explain why I've experienced something the way I do without realizing it