Dark Matter Reviews

[daft twat]

I can't seem to get a grasp on how the first two songs will sound like from these reviews.

Like Go followed by Animal











(hopefully)

Like Whoever Said followed by SBWM would be okay by me.

[Val]

I can't seem to get a grasp on how the first two songs will sound like from these reviews.

Like Go followed by Animal

(hopefully)

Like Whoever Said followed by SBWM would be okay by me.

I don't like SBWM at all

[Mike]

I can't seem to get a grasp on how the first two songs will sound like from these reviews.

Like Go followed by Animal











(hopefully)

Like Whoever Said followed by SBWM would be okay by me.

Same. But that last review says they're in the same realm as Dark Matter and Running so I'm not sure what we're getting.

[joostone]

Some of the songs pack surprises too, especially “Waiting for Stevie.” The song, which was written during sessions for Vedder’s solo album when he and Watt were waiting for Stevie Wonder to show up to the studio, is one that will sneak up on you. It gives off serious “Given To Fly” vibes until its latter half during which McCready erupts with a near 90-second guitar solo, his best since “Alive,” and Cameron assists with raucous drum pounding.

[Vindicator]

Scared of Fear I'm expecting something similar to Who Ever Said but with a bit more grit due to it being a Stone riff. Hopefully a little more Life Wasted type aggression.

React Respond may be different because it's been described as having a Devo / Police vibe, so thats got me thinking Got Some and My Fathers Son. React Respond is a Jeff song, so I'm sure it's good. I'm in for a better version of Got Some.

[Strat]

https://www.stereogum.com/2257306/prema ... Bpwu6UwJxQ

[Strat]

That review is interesting. Treads the line for all types of fans.

Trag is gonna hate this

[Val]

https://www.stereogum.com/2257306/premature-evaluation-pearl-jam-dark-matter/reviews/premature-evaluation/?fbclid=IwAR2LegWz7s3gyRV0Grcg1pEbLDV4_8XWfFcZxGSgSJskTE4nkZMCV2gtT90_aem_AZpiUaicCIIkdxFEMJrY_QerbiUwMhOMpPAenkSWjyqH3dJ8HF6BebHxuBpwu6UwJxQ

This reads like a honest review that leaves you completely unaware of what the albums is actually like.
A few more comparisons to existing songs would have surely helped, but alright.

[VinylGuy]

Lots of reviews…maybe a leak is coming soon?

[oneway23]

Some of the songs pack surprises too, especially “Waiting for Stevie.” The song, which was written during sessions for Vedder’s solo album when he and Watt were waiting for Stevie Wonder to show up to the studio, is one that will sneak up on you. It gives off serious “Given To Fly” vibes until its latter half during which McCready erupts with a near 90-second guitar solo, his best since “Alive,” and Cameron assists with raucous drum pounding.

Couldn't possibly be any more excited by this description

[Val]

Lots of reviews…maybe a leak is coming soon?

like the sewage in the plumbing cause we left the fucking water running

[digster]

https://www.stereogum.com/2257306/premature-evaluation-pearl-jam-dark-matter/reviews/premature-evaluation/?fbclid=IwAR2LegWz7s3gyRV0Grcg1pEbLDV4_8XWfFcZxGSgSJskTE4nkZMCV2gtT90_aem_AZpiUaicCIIkdxFEMJrY_QerbiUwMhOMpPAenkSWjyqH3dJ8HF6BebHxuBpwu6UwJxQ

Stereogum consistently has some of the most thoughtful reviews (and writing in general) about this band. Open-minded but critical, and able to speak knowledgeably about their whole career, and this doesn't seem any different.

[digster]

This is interesting, because this is definitely the implicit vibe the rollout has had so far. It's interesting to hear how the album does and doesn't fit into that...

Pearl Jam are long past the turning point after which their albums purely existed for the diehard fanbase. Schisms in that audience have always meant the devout are wildly divided on what is the band’s peak era and what constitutes a “good” latter-day Pearl Jam album. Some embraced the back-to-some-kind-of-basics albums Pearl Jam favored for much of this century, from the reboot of their 2006 self-titled through Backspacer and Lightning Bolt. As such semi-conscious returns to form go, those albums were often more a reclamation of an idea of Pearl Jam’s early days. In comparison, those of us who prefer Pearl Jam’s searching middle years may have had warmer feelings toward the meditative, atmospheric Gigaton, the album Pearl Jam returned with in 2020 after a long seven-year gap. Dark Matter now arrives as a complete about-face from that album. While not exactly a complete apology for Gigaton, the comments the band have made thus far have an implicit undertone: If you didn’t like reflective aging Pearl Jam, don’t worry, we turned the guitars back up.

[oneway23]

https://www.stereogum.com/2257306/premature-evaluation-pearl-jam-dark-matter/reviews/premature-evaluation/?fbclid=IwAR2LegWz7s3gyRV0Grcg1pEbLDV4_8XWfFcZxGSgSJskTE4nkZMCV2gtT90_aem_AZpiUaicCIIkdxFEMJrY_QerbiUwMhOMpPAenkSWjyqH3dJ8HF6BebHxuBpwu6UwJxQ

Stereogum consistently has some of the most thoughtful reviews (and writing in general) about this band. Open-minded but critical, and able to speak knowledgeably about their whole career, and this doesn't seem any different.

Yes. Fantastic review. Very aware of all of the contours of their career. I also particularly like "blearier Binaural or Riot Act ballad" when describing Wreckage

[Mike]

Upon the release of its advance singles “Dark Matter” and “Running,” this seemed to foreshadow a misfire full of clunky attempts at bygone ferocity. Those tracks function as the now-requisite ragers on later Pearl Jam albums — placeholders, also-rans, the band straining but floundering. Elsewhere, focusing on the power of Cameron’s drums, big guitar leads, and Vedder’s immortal vocals actually results in some convincing arguments for a bread-and-butter Pearl Jam collection. Opener “Scared Of Fear” is a nimble earworm, and mid-paced rockers like “Wreckage” are a lived-in continuation of Pearl Jam’s particular brand of grandeur. “Setting Sun” is a raggedly majestic closer. As ever, there are gems for the obsessives to find if they want.

This has me cautiously optimistic that I will find song things to love about this album because I agree about this statement about Dark Matter and Running.

[tommy]

This is interesting, because this is definitely the implicit vibe the rollout has had so far. It's interesting to hear how the album does and doesn't fit into that...

Pearl Jam are long past the turning point after which their albums purely existed for the diehard fanbase. Schisms in that audience have always meant the devout are wildly divided on what is the band’s peak era and what constitutes a “good” latter-day Pearl Jam album. Some embraced the back-to-some-kind-of-basics albums Pearl Jam favored for much of this century, from the reboot of their 2006 self-titled through Backspacer and Lightning Bolt. As such semi-conscious returns to form go, those albums were often more a reclamation of an idea of Pearl Jam’s early days. In comparison, those of us who prefer Pearl Jam’s searching middle years may have had warmer feelings toward the meditative, atmospheric Gigaton, the album Pearl Jam returned with in 2020 after a long seven-year gap. Dark Matter now arrives as a complete about-face from that album. While not exactly a complete apology for Gigaton, the comments the band have made thus far have an implicit undertone: If you didn’t like reflective aging Pearl Jam, don’t worry, we turned the guitars back up.

Well that's not good

[stip]

That was a great review in terms of being insightful and thoughtful

[Mike]

Upon the release of its advance singles “Dark Matter” and “Running,” this seemed to foreshadow a misfire full of clunky attempts at bygone ferocity. Those tracks function as the now-requisite ragers on later Pearl Jam albums — placeholders, also-rans, the band straining but floundering. Elsewhere, focusing on the power of Cameron’s drums, big guitar leads, and Vedder’s immortal vocals actually results in some convincing arguments for a bread-and-butter Pearl Jam collection. Opener “Scared Of Fear” is a nimble earworm, and mid-paced rockers like “Wreckage” are a lived-in continuation of Pearl Jam’s particular brand of grandeur. “Setting Sun” is a raggedly majestic closer. As ever, there are gems for the obsessives to find if they want.

This has me cautiously optimistic that I will find song things to love about this album because I agree about this statement about Dark Matter and Running.

Sounds like the singles are the two songs to prove the point that they can still rock very hard and the rest is more solid bread and butter Pearl Jam (which is what I enjoy)

[liebzz]

All these things are promising, except I guess I didn’t think of Gigaton in that way. I thought of Lightning Bolt as the more reflective adult album. Gigaton is to me a snap shot of the band pushing some on its sound while cajoling the audience to move past stuck in place and into action, largely to save the world from the humans.

[stip]

. In comparison, those of us who prefer Pearl Jam’s searching middle years may have had warmer feelings toward the meditative, atmospheric Gigaton, the album Pearl Jam returned with in 2020 after a long seven-year gap. Dark Matter now arrives as a complete about-face from that album. While not exactly a complete apology for Gigaton, the comments the band have made thus far have an implicit undertone: If you didn’t like reflective aging Pearl Jam, don’t worry, we turned the guitars back up.

Unless reflective means subdued or quiet, these don't have to be mutually exclusive. Gigaton had a lot of reflection and searching around what it means to age and what is owed to the generations that follow, and you can ponder that quietly, or at great volume.