Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

[stip]

It sounds vital in a way a pj song hasn’t felt in a long while. The take on the world energy they have at their best is back - whether that is the composition or the performance I love what watt got out of them on DM. Running too, albeit to a lesser extent.

This reminds me of the hype train that had enough steam to hop a chasm when Getaway came out.
I read posts in here that proudly proclaimed that Pearl Jam had "finally learned how to write a rock song again."
I can acknowledge and appreciate fandom getting swept up in the excitement of fresh material, but, were WES, DotC, and Never Destination, among others, not vital?

Very true. I like Dark Matter a good bit . I like Running alot more . I think vital is a odd word choice. Stip should offer a explanation on the word vital. Stip is a word Smith, but I think he went a Wordie Vedder with Viiateeelh.

i stand by the word. the best pearl jam music feels like a lever someone rammed into the center of some immovable mass standing between you and something better - like if there is enough pressure applied to this one spot, you can do something impossible.

the great songs on gigaton feel diagnostic - like they are identifying where those transformative pressure points are. but they don’t actually move the rock.

thats not a comment on their quality - I think the first three songs on Gigaton are 5 star triumphs, and better than Dark Matter. But their vibe is different. They describe what went wrong. Dark Matter is outraged by it.

I made this point earlier, but this far Dark Matter has felt like a response/companion to Giaton in the way that S/T is to Riot Act. The earlier records are an attempt to understand some sweeping change in your life/thr world around you. The companion record is a protest against what you have discovered


we are two songs in, so right now this is a vibes observation. we will see if it plays out.

[Anders]

The best Pearl Jam songs have great music, often interesting lyrics, an interesting riff, some good Mike shredding. Pearl Jam are at their worst when they try to rock out, or go punk. They should look more back at Yield, at what made them great, than at some rocking past, that they are trying to reclaim.

I think Gigaton did a pretty good job at it. At a band working on making good songs, coming up with interesting music. Could have been better, but it had something special.

I hope the new one has got that as well.

[Mike]

i stand by the word. the best pearl jam music feels like a lever someone rammed into the center of some immovable mass standing between you and something better - like if there is enough pressure applied to this one spot, you can do something impossible.

the great songs on gigaton feel diagnostic - like they are identifying where those transformative pressure points are. but they don’t actually move the rock.

thats not a comment on their quality - I think the first three songs on Gigaton are 5 star triumphs, and better than Dark Matter. But their vibe is different. They describe what went wrong. Dark Matter is outraged by it.

I made this point earlier, but this far Dark Matter has felt like a response/companion to Giaton in the way that S/T is to Riot Act. The earlier records are an attempt to understand some sweeping change in your life/thr world around you. The companion record is a protest against what you have discovered


we are two songs in, so right now this is a vibes observation. we will see if it plays out.

I agree about the songs on Gigaton feeling diagnostic. I think part of this is also stemming from the way the songs were created. The Gigaton songs were not created as spontaneous as the Dark Matter ones which probably leads to more specific, lengthy and diagnostic lyrics and songs. The Dark Matter songs seem less specific so far and more like describing a feeling Ed was having in the moment. I think they said somewhere that some of the lyrics were written very quickly this time. This leads to more feeling than thinking songs. (Not saying the Dark Matter songs are dumb)

[Ms Harmless]

The best Pearl Jam songs have great music, often interesting lyrics, an interesting riff, some good Mike shredding. Pearl Jam are at their worst when they try to rock out, or go punk. They should look more back at Yield, at what made them great, than at some rocking past, that they are trying to reclaim.

I think Gigaton did a pretty good job at it. At a band working on making good songs, coming up with interesting music. Could have been better, but it had something special.

I hope the new one has got that as well.

I can promise you it has Something Special

[Anders]

The best Pearl Jam songs have great music, often interesting lyrics, an interesting riff, some good Mike shredding. Pearl Jam are at their worst when they try to rock out, or go punk. They should look more back at Yield, at what made them great, than at some rocking past, that they are trying to reclaim.

I think Gigaton did a pretty good job at it. At a band working on making good songs, coming up with interesting music. Could have been better, but it had something special.

I hope the new one has got that as well.

I can promise you it has Something Special

[Ms Harmless]

tomorrow begins the 2 week countdown

[Anders]

True, and also: "The PEARL JAM: DARK MATTER - GLOBAL CINEMA EXPERIENCE" is on Tuesday the 16th.

[stip]

i stand by the word. the best pearl jam music feels like a lever someone rammed into the center of some immovable mass standing between you and something better - like if there is enough pressure applied to this one spot, you can do something impossible.

the great songs on gigaton feel diagnostic - like they are identifying where those transformative pressure points are. but they don’t actually move the rock.

thats not a comment on their quality - I think the first three songs on Gigaton are 5 star triumphs, and better than Dark Matter. But their vibe is different. They describe what went wrong. Dark Matter is outraged by it.

I made this point earlier, but this far Dark Matter has felt like a response/companion to Giaton in the way that S/T is to Riot Act. The earlier records are an attempt to understand some sweeping change in your life/thr world around you. The companion record is a protest against what you have discovered


we are two songs in, so right now this is a vibes observation. we will see if it plays out.

I agree about the songs on Gigaton feeling diagnostic. I think part of this is also stemming from the way the songs were created. The Gigaton songs were not created as spontaneous as the Dark Matter ones which probably leads to more specific, lengthy and diagnostic lyrics and songs. The Dark Matter songs seem less specific so far and more like describing a feeling Ed was having in the moment. I think they said somewhere that some of the lyrics were written very quickly this time. This leads to more feeling than thinking songs. (Not saying the Dark Matter songs are dumb)

I think you’re right about this

[Anders]

i stand by the word. the best pearl jam music feels like a lever someone rammed into the center of some immovable mass standing between you and something better - like if there is enough pressure applied to this one spot, you can do something impossible.

the great songs on gigaton feel diagnostic - like they are identifying where those transformative pressure points are. but they don’t actually move the rock.

thats not a comment on their quality - I think the first three songs on Gigaton are 5 star triumphs, and better than Dark Matter. But their vibe is different. They describe what went wrong. Dark Matter is outraged by it.

I made this point earlier, but this far Dark Matter has felt like a response/companion to Giaton in the way that S/T is to Riot Act. The earlier records are an attempt to understand some sweeping change in your life/thr world around you. The companion record is a protest against what you have discovered


we are two songs in, so right now this is a vibes observation. we will see if it plays out.

I agree about the songs on Gigaton feeling diagnostic. I think part of this is also stemming from the way the songs were created. The Gigaton songs were not created as spontaneous as the Dark Matter ones which probably leads to more specific, lengthy and diagnostic lyrics and songs. The Dark Matter songs seem less specific so far and more like describing a feeling Ed was having in the moment. I think they said somewhere that some of the lyrics were written very quickly this time. This leads to more feeling than thinking songs. (Not saying the Dark Matter songs are dumb)

I think you’re right about this

I think that could have a greater influence on the music, than the lyrics. The music for Gigaton was always created over time. But the explanation for how Ed made the lyrics, sounded a bit more spontaneous. Also Dark Matter did take a couple of years to finish as well, so might have had some time for Ed to do a little fixing on it.

[Val]

I think that could have a greater influence on the music, than the lyrics. The music for Gigaton was always created over time. But the explanation for how Ed made the lyrics, sounded a bit more spontaneous. Also Dark Matter did take a couple of years to finish as well, so might have had some time for Ed to do a little fixing on it.

One of the reviewers claimed that this record feels like Ed had given up the reigns over to Stone, at least music wise.

[Rob]

The weird thing about the production debate is that it obviously didn’t sound shitty to the band or producer, so I’m not sure how you qualify the “shitty” label. Isn’t it just a preference? I can see the clear difference between Gig and these songs, I probably prefer the former on how it sounds, but is one shitty?

[Mike]

I think it's important to differentiate here. Andrew Watt and Serban Ghenea are professional guys who know exactly what they are doing. It is not definitely not shitty when looking at it from the perspective "Did they manage to make it sound exactly like they wanted to?". This is a how a lot of people want modern rock to sound and these guys managed to do that. This is well produced and mixed in that sense. There are no faults or accidents here.
Of course Andrew Watt and Serban Ghenea didn't listen to this and think it sounds bad. This is how all their stuff sounds like. This is what they are good at. The only question is if you like their style of production. I personally think it sounds like shit because I really don't like their sleek and loud style. But that is what it is: A style. A choice. The music sound full on and loud and present.

[tommy]

Did this thing leak yet?

[Anders]

Too early to tell for me based on the two songs so far. Have only listened to them here and there. Saving a bit the suspense and feeling for the full album.

But I did enjoy the EV solo album.

[Anders]

Did this thing leak yet?

No

[Mike]

I mean, look at Serban Gheneas mixing discography. He has mixed over 188 No. 1 recordings
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serban_Ghenea
This is the guy you get so make a popular sounding record. Not a record for audiophiles. This is the stuff that sounds "great" on the radio. Does that mean its shitty? Most people seem to want music sounding this way. I do not

[Anders]

Not heard many of those songs, but those I did, I never thought about blaming the guys doing the mix.

[Ms Harmless]

The weird thing about the production debate is that it obviously didn’t sound shitty to the band or producer, so I’m not sure how you qualify the “shitty” label. Isn’t it just a preference? I can see the clear difference between Gig and these songs, I probably prefer the former on how it sounds, but is one shitty?

I think this type of production is a bold choice, and not one that naturally serves this type of music best, but it's not objectively shitty and it's more a product of our current musical era than Watt's fault; that said, we can't possibly know how happy the band is with the production in particular and there are several factors that might cause a subpar record to be done and signed off regardless (for example, the band was unhappy with the original production of Ten, for years, and they made it known to us); what we do know is that the band is very happy with their contributions, which essentially amount to: good songs written, good performances down, and productive time spent (all of which are also subjective, but the band has ultimate say)

[Mike]

Not heard many of those songs, but those I did, I never thought about blaming the guys doing the mix.

I did not want to say that he mixed bad songs, just that he is the guy you get if you want your songs to be very popular

[Ms Harmless]

The weird thing about the production debate is that it obviously didn’t sound shitty to the band or producer, so I’m not sure how you qualify the “shitty” label. Isn’t it just a preference? I can see the clear difference between Gig and these songs, I probably prefer the former on how it sounds, but is one shitty?

I think this type of production is a bold choice, and not one that naturally serves this type of music best, but it's not objectively shitty and it's more a product of our current musical era than Watt's fault; that said, we can't possibly know how happy the band is with the production in particular and there are several factors that might cause a subpar record to be done and signed off regardless (for example, the band was unhappy with the original production of Ten, for years, and they made it known to us); what we do know is that the band is very happy with their contributions, which essentially amount to: good songs written, good performances down, and productive time spent (all of which are also subjective, but the band has ultimate say)

edit: and that's all I really care about, at the end of the day