Lightning Bolt: The Official Album Thread

[zatara]

These days I finally found the time to listen to the new album. So far, I have the strangest 50/50 positive/negative reaction towards this output. Avocado, Backspacer, PJ20, Oracle etc have been more than a motive for negative criticism in terms of aesthetics and commercial strategy yet I was able (from my point of view of course) to recognize, analyze and justify the business intentions, the sonic choices even the band's "dynamics". With LB I found it really difficult to understand the necessity of usage of certain elements and the provoking limitation of certain others.
Specifically when MYM came out I thought OK, yet another average democrat pop PJ song from the Backspacer era, nowhere near the punk ethos (at least ours), that will serve its commercial purpose for a hit single. Then Future Days and Lightning Bolt from the Canada shows, clearly Vedder's songs, reduced my hopes for an actual album. Not another Yield, or Binaural, or Vitalogy, a 2013 actual album. Last, Sirens. That started the confusion. The ''excuse'' of because the love for McCready they did that, or they are targeting the group of U.S.A audience they regained with the Just Breathe conceptual formula wasn't enough for me. It is comical for such a band to use this garbage as a spearhead so shamelessly. By that time I said, I will download LB and who knows maybe something will survive yet another ridiculous self-referential tsunami of dotard sentimentalism and uninspired fundamental intention.
Αnd then Pendulum started,and I payed attention to My Father's Son and Yellow Moon plus Getaway is getting better, and I love Gossard's song and Infallible is classic PJ (in a much real way than Force of nature or Unthought known or Life wasted). So I have two albums, the worst and the potentially best sign of improvement since Riot Act.
Remember Ament in SVT saying that the process of recording Yield and the result of that made them sound like a band again and they probably should change their name? Well, with Lightning Bolt they sound like two bands.

[harmless]

Brendan O'Brien talks Matt Cameron, drum sounds and Pearl Jam's Lightning Bolt

http://www.musicradar.com/news/drums/br ... olt-585049
.

(Matt) understands the process and doesn’t bitch about it. A lot of the time I’ll have drummers who don’t make a lot of records and I’ll say, ‘Ok, we’re going to drop in the chorus,’ and they’ll say, ‘Well, I want to get it in one take.’ It is not a live performance, I don’t give a shit about that, we’re making a record. Matt gets all of that.

O'Brien: So, okay guys, that was a good take. Next Tuesday, we'll re-do just the choruses and maybe the second half of the bridge.

Drummer: I don't know, man, it sounded fine to me. In any event, wouldn't it be easier to just have another crack at the whole song?

O'Brien: Huh. (Sniff). I guess you don't make a lot of records.

Don't let harmless see this. He'll be taking out a hit and I'm not sure we have the savings for it.

Don't worry, as soon as I saw this I vowed never to read it.

[---]

4 or 5 spins in: really enjoying getaway and pendulum, weakly enjoying let the records play, have moved MYM, sirens, infallible, and future days to "must-skip" status, and couldn't care about hearing any of the rest again. LB is better than the last two, but still suffers from the same problems that have plagued all of their post-2003 output. two enjoyable songs is honestly more than i expected at this point, so in that respect i guess i can't call this one a disappointment.

[darth_vedder]

^Yikes, harsh review.

I think this one is way better than Backspacer, and maybe b/c of the new factor, better than Avocado. Really though, Since Yield, pretty much each album has had highs and lows. I love me some Binaural, but as we have discussed a lot, what could have been makes it a very frustrating listen for me. RA has a lot of ups and downs, I'm not convinced it's a better album than LB. The highs, especially Help Help and Can't Keep, are probably better than anything on LB though.

Overall, I think it's a pretty solid album. Getaway > MYM > MFS > and even Sirens is a nice opening sequence for me. I absolutely love Pendulum, and both SW and YM are growing on me.

[psychobain]

this album made me love this band again

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

this album made me love this band again

Im still loving it, but im thinking about giving it a break for a day or 2 though

[stip]

it's okay not to listen to something you love every day

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

it's okay not to listen to something you love every day

Though i already changed my mind in the SW thread
Im gonna listen with headphones tonight, i haven't done that since last Saturday

[Jaymz82]

I'm pretty happy with the album.
Every song up until Sleeping by Myself has moments that stand out for me, on top of being very enjoyable. Same goes for Yellow Moon.
Sleeping and Future Days though, are way too sappy and suffer toothdecaying sweetness.
If Let it Ride replaced Sleeping and Of the Earth took the place of Future Days, I'd be completely satisfied with the album, strong, entertaining but not their best. Which is fine. I can see all songs sans two really grow on me.

Pendulum is a gem

[Lostdog]

I'm pretty happy with the album.
Every song up until Sleeping by Myself has moments that stand out for me, on top of being very enjoyable. Same goes for Yellow Moon.
Sleeping and Future Days though, are way too sappy and suffer toothdecaying sweetness.
If Let it Ride replaced Sleeping and Of the Earth took the place of Future Days, I'd be completely satisfied with the album, strong, entertaining but not their best. Which is fine. I can see all songs sans two really grow on me.

Pendulum is a gem

If Pearl Jam producer changes for the next album will have something amazing.

Pendulum es la Joya de ellos en los ultimos 10 años.

[perhaps]

Anyone one still waiting on the vinyl? I want to feel its glorious grooves!

[epilogue]

Yep. Still waiting.

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

Anyone one still waiting on the vinyl? I want to feel its glorious grooves!

[evenslow]

Yep. Still waiting.

[McParadigm]

ITunes tells me that I listens to this album 11 times before pulling it off my playlist, and that doesn't include three or four times listening to the stream. Apparently I wanted to like this a lot more than I realized I did.

Obviously didn't work. I need to do a little culling in there sometime soon, and right now in expecting the whole album to get the boot.

[iceagecoming]

Just listened to this fully for the first time.

Sleeping by Myself sounded great. I wish we could have a copy of Ukulele Songs recorded with a full band arrangement.

[evenslow]

ITunes tells me that I listens to this album 11 times before pulling it off my playlist, and that doesn't include three or four times listening to the stream. Apparently I wanted to like this a lot more than I realized I did.

Obviously didn't work. I need to do a little culling in there sometime soon, and right now in expecting the whole album to get the boot.

Somewhere in the darkness, Lightning Bolt cries like Iron Eyes Cody.

[McParadigm]

ITunes tells me that I listens to this album 11 times before pulling it off my playlist, and that doesn't include three or four times listening to the stream. Apparently I wanted to like this a lot more than I realized I did.

Obviously didn't work. I need to do a little culling in there sometime soon, and right now in expecting the whole album to get the boot.

Somewhere in the darkness, Lightning Bolt cries like Iron Eyes Cody.

Too bad he was a psychopath and now I'm the next in line.

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

Just listened to this fully for the first time.

Sleeping by Myself sounded great. I wish we could have a copy of Ukulele Songs recorded with a full band arrangement.

Im pretty sure stip mentioned that the other day too, i think they could to a great job with a lot of those songs

[Sgt. Crackpot]

Just listened to this fully for the first time.

Sleeping by Myself sounded great. I wish we could have a copy of Ukulele Songs recorded with a full band arrangement.

Im pretty sure stip mentioned that the other day too, i think they could to a great job with a lot of those songs

I like the idea, but rather than a studio version I think it would work well as a subdued live/acoustic performance.