Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

[Tj]

Wreckage is a highlight of the metal door leak. I don't think it's a ballad? Hasn't it been described as more mid-tempo?

Its been described as acoustic chimey Tom Petty esque. Maybe not quite a ballad but who knows

I hear a u2 vibe in the metal door leak of Wreckage. Like Beatiful Day/How to dismantle era

[Release_Me]

But there is pop too- with gravitas. "'Visited by thoughts/ And not just in the night/That I no longer give a fuck/Who is wrong and who's right," Vedder sings in Wreckage, a plaintive stomp - a Pearl Jam signature - streaked with jangling Telecaster sun (played by Watt in an open-G tuning he learned from the Stones' Keith Richards). In Upper Hand, the melancholy at the front ("The distance to the end/Is closer now/Than it's ever been") gives way to a heavy Beatle-esque ascent like Abbey Road at the barricades.

From the Mojo piece.

[Vindicator]

"The result is an album with something to love for every iteration of Pearl Jam fan, from kick-ass rockers such as the opening one-two punch of “Scared of Fear” and “React, Respond” to the open-hearted, acoustic-flecked ballad “Wreckage”

Open hearted acoustic flecked ballad

[Release_Me]

The album starts with a snap to attention: the crack of a pool cue breaking the table (credited to Vedder's friend Sean Penn and taped by the singer on his phone), then the enraged stutter of Gossard's guitar in Scared Of Fear, a maelstrom caught on Pearl Jam's first day with Watt in April 2021, in the basement studio of the producer's Beverly Hills house. React, Respond follows with a jump to even higher speed, also cut at Watt's place and exuberantly scarred by Ament's growling, distorted bass. So far, so 1991-94. "Stone had a great rif," Ament says of Scared Of Fear. "It was just getting in a circle and throwing things out: 'Let's do this. Within five minutes of having the bones of the arrangement, Ed came up with the crux of the lyrics" -- a feral summation of endangered joys and communion that could be about love, friendship or, in the chorus, the old Seattle ("`We used to laugh/We
used to sing/We used to dance/We used to believe").

More song descriptions.

[Bi_3]

is it not "sewage IN the plumbing" ?

Sewage in the plumbing would be dark matter

[Birds in Hell]

"I tried to produce this album from the crowd," Watt says. "What do we want as Pearl Jam fans?"

Blergh.

[oneway23]

Wreckage, a plaintive stomp - a Pearl Jam signature - streaked with jangling Telecaster sun (played by Watt in an open-G tuning he learned from the Stones' Keith Richards).

For all the guitar players in here, isn't "Street-Fighting Man" in open G tuning? Super interesting

[Val]

I’m cleansing the palate with Brian Eno’s Music for Installations.

These clips are driving me crazy. And the waiting.

[Mike]

"I tried to produce this album from the crowd," Watt says. "What do we want as Pearl Jam fans?"

Blergh.

Yeah

[Mike]

I’m cleansing the palate with Brian Eno’s Music for Installations.

These clips are driving me crazy. And the waiting.

Waiting for friday so I have new Waxahatchee and Adrianne Lenker records to make the wait easier

[Farmer John]

is it not "sewage IN the plumbing" ?

Sewage in the plumbing would be dark matter

We might have a concept album on our hands

[RockPusher]

"I tried to produce this album from the crowd," Watt says. "What do we want as Pearl Jam fans?"

Blergh.

Wasn't Josh Evans producing from a fan's perspective as well, though? My understanding was that was a strength he brought that the band appreciated.

[Mike]

is it not "sewage IN the plumbing" ?

Sewage in the plumbing would be dark matter

We might have a concept album on our hands

it's certainly a wreckage every time i've been on the toilet

[Birds in Hell]

"I tried to produce this album from the crowd," Watt says. "What do we want as Pearl Jam fans?"

Blergh.

Yeah

Not to hold Rick Rubin up as any kind of yardstick, but he's right here:

Elsewhere in the conversation, Rubin discusses the irrelevance of knowing what audiences want to his process. "The audience comes last," he tells Cooper. "The audience doesn't know what they want. The audience only knows what's come before."

[RockPusher]

"I tried to produce this album from the crowd," Watt says. "What do we want as Pearl Jam fans?"

Blergh.

Yeah

Not to hold Rick Rubin up as any kind of yardstick, but he's right here:

Elsewhere in the conversation, Rubin discusses the irrelevance of knowing what audiences want to his process. "The audience comes last," he tells Cooper. "The audience doesn't know what they want. The audience only knows what's come before."

That's a great quote and makes all the sense. Considering that there are things on Gigaton we hadn't heard from PJ before (i.e. Dance), I think Josh Evans balanced this well.

[Bi_3]

is it not "sewage IN the plumbing" ?

Sewage in the plumbing would be dark matter

We might have a concept album on our hands

it's certainly a wreckage every time i've been on the toilet

Could be something special

[Ms Harmless]

"I tried to produce this album from the crowd," Watt says. "What do we want as Pearl Jam fans?"

Blergh.

Yeah

isn't this what RM is all about though?

[bodysnatcher]

For every detail I hear or read about this album that makes me excited, there’s one that tempers that feeling.

I’m currently perfectly balanced between anticipation and dread.

[Mike]

"I tried to produce this album from the crowd," Watt says. "What do we want as Pearl Jam fans?"

Blergh.

Yeah

Not to hold Rick Rubin up as any kind of yardstick, but he's right here:

Elsewhere in the conversation, Rubin discusses the irrelevance of knowing what audiences want to his process. "The audience comes last," he tells Cooper. "The audience doesn't know what they want. The audience only knows what's come before."

Yep, I agree. The thing is, when someone would have told me a producer is trying to get "what the fans want" out of Pearl Jam, what we heard so far is not what I would have imagined. I think full on fan service and making Ten/Vs. 2.0 is what I would have imagined (not what I would want though). Neither Dark Matter nor the clips of Something Special and Running sound anything close to that.

[Ms Harmless]

"I tried to produce this album from the crowd," Watt says. "What do we want as Pearl Jam fans?"

Blergh.

Wasn't Josh Evans producing from a fan's perspective as well, though? My understanding was that was a strength he brought that the band appreciated.

yeah but he was a much cooler fan!