Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

[McParadigm]

I’m still in the “admire what it does” stage.

I won’t know exactly how I feel about the record until I’m cozy enough to get to the “I wish it had also…” part of the journey. But it’s absolutely a better record than I would have ever hoped for.

I really like hearing the band make a record that not only hits all its selected targets, but also never feels desperate or reaching. It isn’t trying to predict what you want them to be, or cover up its insecurities. It sounds naturally powerful, in a way they haven’t for 30 years.

In a lot of ways it feels like the band they might have been, if a multitude of forces hadn’t made them feel ashamed of their most inviting instincts. But it’s also informed by those other experiences, just as the songs are informed by their decades of writing in isolation.

After Gigaton I was fully ready to consider a future where they didn’t make another record. Every member of the band is either at or is approaching the age my dad passed at. You never know when the universe is gonna enforce a curfew.

Gigaton was a really good record, so I was both relieved and incredibly grateful for it.

This album, by comparison, has made me greedy. Goddamn, do I hope they make another one.

There’s no way I’m going to make a statement about exactly where Dark Matter sits with me. We just met. But “together, you and me can take on anyone” is a perfect distillation of what I think rock music is when it’s in its best and purist state. So watch out.

[Kevin Davis]

I worry the big potential problem with songs that don't originate live together is that they may not have that lived-in feel for the band as a whole, and then can end up either getting somewhat ignored live, or not being played as well live.

This definitely seems to be the case with Stone/Jeff/Matt numbers; it seems to be less true of Eddie songs, which makes me think that concert frequency is ultimately less about some kind of natural organic energy and more simply about what they choose to rehearse and get good at. Granted, you could certainly make the case that songs with more band member input on the creative side require less effort to get to that point. But I also think they probably make some considerations based (at least partially) on which songs they think are going to be consistent crowd pleasers vs. occasional flavor enhancers, and almost all of the Stone/Jeff/Matt songs fall into that second bucket.

That said, I've been out of the loop in regards to their live shows for a good 10 years or so now (I have some general familiarity with the trajectory of the shows since then, but haven't really collected boots or listened to the shows beyond a handful, mostly ones I attended personally); with as short as their tours are, and as rare as it is for any current song to find a lasting place in their repertoire, the live show is very much a secondary concern for me when thinking about their songwriting and the kinds of things I get excited to hear them try creatively. This has long been a debate around here, but -- speaking in extremes for the sake of illustrating a point -- I'd much prefer they make a wildly creative studio record that is utterly impossible to play live, as opposed to a more straightforward rock album made entirely in the service if how it will sound in an arena. I don't think they have any interest in making a record that falls into the former category, and I don't expect them to; in the end, I want them to make the records they want to make and, even if given the opportunity, would not enforce my preferences on their or anyone's creative work. But I also find myself pretty defensive of their songs that live closest to that space, and suspect that, were I to do the math, I'd probably find some level of inverse correlation between my personal ratings of PJ songs and how often they're played live.

To be clear, none of this really impacts how I hear and experience Dark Matter in a judgmental way; I think the tendency to compare things, and the engaging intellectual and social exercise that that can be, weighs heavier in the discourse of a thing than in the actual experience of it, and it's rare that I listen to new PJ music and think, "I wish this was more like x old song" ("I wish this had a sound that was more like x old record" is a different story). I'm glad that their body of work tells the story that it does, and isn't just an endless repetition of my own niche preferences-within-a-preference. With Dark Matter (and really starting with Earthling), I am finding pleasant surprises in places that I wouldn't expect to find them, and in creative settings that I never would have prescribed for the band, so...I don't really know anything. But nevertheless, there are things I occasionally miss, and things that I wish had been less fleeting in the life of the band, and offbeat Stone and Matt songs are definitely near the top of that list.

[EBowie]

I love this album, and after having a few weeks to digest, I feel confident about giving it 5 stars. If I were forced to come up with any nit-picky complaints, I think the album could use one more hard rocking song.

[stip]

a month in and it hasnt relinquished its hold on me. I always have long honeymoons with pearl jam albums so we will see, but this will ultimately be at least a top 5 album, and maybe their 4th 5 start album.

[stip]

I’m still in the “admire what it does” stage.

I won’t know exactly how I feel about the record until I’m cozy enough to get to the “I wish it had also…” part of the journey. But it’s absolutely a better record than I would have ever hoped for.

I really like hearing the band make a record that not only hits all its selected targets, but also never feels desperate or reaching. It isn’t trying to predict what you want them to be, or cover up its insecurities. It sounds naturally powerful, in a way they haven’t for 30 years.

In a lot of ways it feels like the band they might have been, if a multitude of forces hadn’t made them feel ashamed of their most inviting instincts. But it’s also informed by those other experiences, just as the songs are informed by their decades of writing in isolation.

After Gigaton I was fully ready to consider a future where they didn’t make another record. Every member of the band is either at or is approaching the age my dad passed at. You never know when the universe is gonna enforce a curfew.

Gigaton was a really good record, so I was both relieved and incredibly grateful for it.

This album, by comparison, has made me greedy. Goddamn, do I hope they make another one.

There’s no way I’m going to make a statement about exactly where Dark Matter sits with me. We just met. But “together, you and me can take on anyone” is a perfect distillation of what I think rock music is when it’s in its best and purist state. So watch out.

something you captured here which I also felt and appreciated for Gigaton that did not exist with Backspacer and Lightning Bolt is the community recognition that this is a really good album. I am not embedded in any other fan communities. I mostly digest music in a vacumn. But it matters to me whether or not other folks enjoy what pearl jam is doing. not as validation, but in the same way that a crowd reaction elevates the experience of a live song. the communal appreciation matters to me here, and really only here

[jgardz]

After a month, I’m still drawn mostly to the 4 “rock” songs much more than the mid tempo or slow stuff, with WFS starting to grow on me a bit as well….i definitely rank this album as their best since ST, possibly even since yield….im not good at ranking the post yield stuff as my tastes very from time to time….i am really impressed with how the new stuff sounds live though as everything they’ve played so far has sounded really strong…after the past few albums my expectations for new stuff have been pretty low as each album only has a handful of songs i really dig, so this album has been a really pleasant surprise!!

[Aunt_Claire_Foy]

Just a thought... there are parts of the record that disappoint me only because the rest of the material on the album is so good. I want to list them here and get a reaction:

1. Scared of Fear - pool cue intro is cheesy and really feels out of place

2. React/Respond - 5 star song, no complaints

3. Wreckage - 5 star song, no complaints

4. Dark Matter - Ed's vocals on the chorus really feel like he's struggling and it makes ME feel like I'm struggling, too.

5. Won't Tell - The verse was initially enough to get me to hit skip because I felt like it was going down the path of Infallible... now all that's left annoying me is that little drum hook in the verse where Matt trades the snare for a tom or hi-hat. Feels too cute for a song that is a killer anthem in the end.

6. Upper Hand - the outro feels too mechanical. Again dinging Matt for this, he just feels stiff on this part. Someone said it reminded them of the Allman Brothers and I tend to agree.

7. Waiting for Steve - the cracking of the audio in the intro riff is just some Mickey Mouse bullshit if ever heard it.

8. Running - this is the one song that has done a complete 180 for me. I actually like it a lot and it's now 5 stars for me.

9. Something Special - Skip.

10. Got to Give - It's like Not for You had a baby with the Into the Wild soundtrack... the lyric "I called the doctor" is just pure cheese. But the song is placed well on the album and a not so subtle reminder that Ed knows 6 chords, not 4. I listen because it feels like a necessary intro to:

11. Setting Sun - verse is a bit Jimmy Buffet for me, but the chorus is one of the best they've written in years.

[Ms Harmless]

that "missed" / delayed snare replaced by open hi-hat in the verses of Won't Tell is a real highlight for me, it adds a little touch of weird Matt angularity to an otherwise pretty plain pop rock song; I'd be very fond of WT either way, but I'm glad that it's there

[stip]

Just a thought... there are parts of the record that disappoint me only because the rest of the material on the album is so good. I want to list them here and get a reaction:

1. Scared of Fear - pool cue intro is cheesy and really feels out of place

2. React/Respond - 5 star song, no complaints

3. Wreckage - 5 star song, no complaints

4. Dark Matter - Ed's vocals on the chorus really feel like he's struggling and it makes ME feel like I'm struggling, too.

5. Won't Tell - The verse was initially enough to get me to hit skip because I felt like it was going down the path of Infallible... now all that's left annoying me is that little drum hook in the verse where Matt trades the snare for a tom or hi-hat. Feels too cute for a song that is a killer anthem in the end.

6. Upper Hand - the outro feels too mechanical. Again dinging Matt for this, he just feels stiff on this part. Someone said it reminded them of the Allman Brothers and I tend to agree.

7. Waiting for Steve - the cracking of the audio in the intro riff is just some Mickey Mouse bullshit if ever heard it.

8. Running - this is the one song that has done a complete 180 for me. I actually like it a lot and it's now 5 stars for me.

9. Something Special - Skip.

10. Got to Give - It's like Not for You had a baby with the Into the Wild soundtrack... the lyric "I called the doctor" is just pure cheese. But the song is placed well on the album and a not so subtle reminder that Ed knows 6 chords, not 4. I listen because it feels like a necessary intro to:

11. Setting Sun - verse is a bit Jimmy Buffet for me, but the chorus is one of the best they've written in years.

was the dark matter comment a critique or observation, since that feels like a feature, not a bug. i love how he sounds on that chorus except for the high part right before the bridge (but its nailed in the outro)

The pool break feels like an inside joke

the WFS crackle shouldnt be there. same with the end of the Upper Hand outro. That outro has not fully connected with me either despite the fact it checks like every box for me.

with the caveat that i also love the sound of that jimmy buffet riff (just ever so sad and wistful) i think its necessary. This is meant to evoke feelings of paradise and the tragedy that even good things end

[warehouse]

i always heard Bruce in Setting Sun, but i listen to him way more than jimmy buffett lol. i think the percussion is amazing. and EV's voice, obviously

[lecherouslittlestump]

The WFS "crackle" in that riff adds to the 90s vibe

[Kevin Davis]

i always heard Bruce in Setting Sun, but i listen to him way more than jimmy buffett lol. i think the percussion is amazing. and EV's voice, obviously

I think you're right -- IMO "Setting Sun" is the most Bruce-ish thing Eddie has ever done, which took some doing. That vocal melody is straight from Bruce's Tom Joad/Devils and Dust playbook.

[stip]

i dont know enough jimmy buffet to know if the songwriting influence is there (i can hear the brice influence). its the island/palm tree feel at the start people are probably referring to)

[guitar_davey]

Just a thought... there are parts of the record that disappoint me only because the rest of the material on the album is so good. I want to list them here and get a reaction:

1. Scared of Fear - pool cue intro is cheesy and really feels out of place

2. React/Respond - 5 star song, no complaints

3. Wreckage - 5 star song, no complaints

4. Dark Matter - Ed's vocals on the chorus really feel like he's struggling and it makes ME feel like I'm struggling, too.

5. Won't Tell - The verse was initially enough to get me to hit skip because I felt like it was going down the path of Infallible... now all that's left annoying me is that little drum hook in the verse where Matt trades the snare for a tom or hi-hat. Feels too cute for a song that is a killer anthem in the end.

6. Upper Hand - the outro feels too mechanical. Again dinging Matt for this, he just feels stiff on this part. Someone said it reminded them of the Allman Brothers and I tend to agree.

7. Waiting for Steve - the cracking of the audio in the intro riff is just some Mickey Mouse bullshit if ever heard it.

8. Running - this is the one song that has done a complete 180 for me. I actually like it a lot and it's now 5 stars for me.

9. Something Special - Skip.

10. Got to Give - It's like Not for You had a baby with the Into the Wild soundtrack... the lyric "I called the doctor" is just pure cheese. But the song is placed well on the album and a not so subtle reminder that Ed knows 6 chords, not 4. I listen because it feels like a necessary intro to:

11. Setting Sun - verse is a bit Jimmy Buffet for me, but the chorus is one of the best they've written in years.

was the dark matter comment a critique or observation, since that feels like a feature, not a bug. i love how he sounds on that chorus except for the high part right before the bridge (but its nailed in the outro)

The pool break feels like an inside joke

the WFS crackle shouldnt be there. same with the end of the Upper Hand outro. That outro has not fully connected with me either despite the fact it checks like every box for me.

with the caveat that i also love the sound of that jimmy buffet riff (just ever so sad and wistful) i think its necessary. This is meant to evoke feelings of paradise and the tragedy that even good things end

The pool break is a nod to the way The Last Waltz kicks off. Same pool table too, no?

[Ms Harmless]

i dont know enough jimmy buffet to know if the songwriting influence is there (i can hear the brice influence). its the island/palm tree feel at the start people are probably referring to)

I love that soulful, glittery electric piano, it's crucial to the song in a way that seriously enhances instead of detracts; in fact I don't remember such an overt use of keys in a Pearl Jam song that I've enjoyed as much as this

edit: it's what Future Days should have sounded like

[Toots McSharty]

Just a thought... there are parts of the record that disappoint me only because the rest of the material on the album is so good. I want to list them here and get a reaction:

1. Scared of Fear - pool cue intro is cheesy and really feels out of place

2. React/Respond - 5 star song, no complaints

3. Wreckage - 5 star song, no complaints

4. Dark Matter - Ed's vocals on the chorus really feel like he's struggling and it makes ME feel like I'm struggling, too.

5. Won't Tell - The verse was initially enough to get me to hit skip because I felt like it was going down the path of Infallible... now all that's left annoying me is that little drum hook in the verse where Matt trades the snare for a tom or hi-hat. Feels too cute for a song that is a killer anthem in the end.

6. Upper Hand - the outro feels too mechanical. Again dinging Matt for this, he just feels stiff on this part. Someone said it reminded them of the Allman Brothers and I tend to agree.

7. Waiting for Steve - the cracking of the audio in the intro riff is just some Mickey Mouse bullshit if ever heard it.

8. Running - this is the one song that has done a complete 180 for me. I actually like it a lot and it's now 5 stars for me.

9. Something Special - Skip.

10. Got to Give - It's like Not for You had a baby with the Into the Wild soundtrack... the lyric "I called the doctor" is just pure cheese. But the song is placed well on the album and a not so subtle reminder that Ed knows 6 chords, not 4. I listen because it feels like a necessary intro to:

11. Setting Sun - verse is a bit Jimmy Buffet for me, but the chorus is one of the best they've written in years.

was the dark matter comment a critique or observation, since that feels like a feature, not a bug. i love how he sounds on that chorus except for the high part right before the bridge (but its nailed in the outro)

The pool break feels like an inside joke

the WFS crackle shouldnt be there. same with the end of the Upper Hand outro. That outro has not fully connected with me either despite the fact it checks like every box for me.

with the caveat that i also love the sound of that jimmy buffet riff (just ever so sad and wistful) i think its necessary. This is meant to evoke feelings of paradise and the tragedy that even good things end

The pool break is a nod to the way The Last Waltz kicks off. Same pool table too, no?

This is how I've always thought of it too.

[Strat]

Rob Sheridan Productions
2 days ago
·
Very excited to finally tell you what's kept us so busy recently: I’ve had the unique honor of directing/creating the first-ever tour visuals for one of the greatest live rock bands of our generation and a hugely formative part of my Seattle youth: Pearl Jam.
I haven’t worked in tour production/design since NIN 2014, but I always said I would go back to it one day if the right artist and the right creative connection came around. There’s a short list of musicians I’d drop everything and rewire a year of my family’s entire life to make art with, and Eddie Vedder is absolutely one of them.
Ed and I hit it off immediately and discussed an inspiring, experimental approach to creating textural video art inspired by the “Dark Matter” theme using decidedly tactile and analog methods, with the the album’s light-painted artwork as a jumping off point (I wasn’t involved in the album art / promotions, that was all underway when I came on board). Steph, who produced the project, set up a raw studio space here in Tacoma and assembled a lean local camera crew, and we spent two months filming in the experimental, open-ended, DIY style that I like to work. With macro lenses and the 1000fps Ember slow-motion camera (made by fantastic local Washington company Freefly), we followed paths of inspiration through elements and states of matter: Light refractions, chemical reactions, fluid dynamics, incandescent projections (including an old overhead projector that ended up in the show) and other experimental setups tracing the connective tissue of the universe. It was prolific and intense, and wouldn’t have been possible without Steph’s rapid problem-solving and a talented camera, animation, and post-prod team.
A grueling month of editing/programming/rehearsals later, the Dark Matter world tour is out on the road now, with two shows under our belt in Vancouver last weekend.
I’ll have a lot more to say about this production, the unique analog practical VFX we employed, and of course videos to share as more people start to see the shows and I maybe get ten seconds to breathe. For now, I’m off to Portland - show number three is tonight!

[VinylGuy]

yeah, thats pretty cool. Visuals seem to be really good.

Maybe Ed decided to do something like this because of U2´Sphere shows?

[MattA75]

yeah, thats pretty cool. Visuals seem to be really good.

Maybe Ed decided to do something like this because of U2´Sphere shows?

I think the band as a whole maybe wanted to try something different, and if they were willing to "structure" a show a little bit more in terms of consistency (see the Scared of Fear thru Dark Matter run so far), it'd allow them to try out different visual accompaniments.

It still allows for overall setlist variety but also makes this tour feel unique and different that might be exciting for the band as something "new" to try.

[mvw]

Just a thought... there are parts of the record that disappoint me only because the rest of the material on the album is so good. I want to list them here and get a reaction:

1. Scared of Fear - pool cue intro is cheesy and really feels out of place

2. React/Respond - 5 star song, no complaints

3. Wreckage - 5 star song, no complaints

4. Dark Matter - Ed's vocals on the chorus really feel like he's struggling and it makes ME feel like I'm struggling, too.

5. Won't Tell - The verse was initially enough to get me to hit skip because I felt like it was going down the path of Infallible... now all that's left annoying me is that little drum hook in the verse where Matt trades the snare for a tom or hi-hat. Feels too cute for a song that is a killer anthem in the end.

6. Upper Hand - the outro feels too mechanical. Again dinging Matt for this, he just feels stiff on this part. Someone said it reminded them of the Allman Brothers and I tend to agree.

7. Waiting for Steve - the cracking of the audio in the intro riff is just some Mickey Mouse bullshit if ever heard it.

8. Running - this is the one song that has done a complete 180 for me. I actually like it a lot and it's now 5 stars for me.

9. Something Special - Skip.

10. Got to Give - It's like Not for You had a baby with the Into the Wild soundtrack... the lyric "I called the doctor" is just pure cheese. But the song is placed well on the album and a not so subtle reminder that Ed knows 6 chords, not 4. I listen because it feels like a necessary intro to:

11. Setting Sun - verse is a bit Jimmy Buffet for me, but the chorus is one of the best they've written in years.

was the dark matter comment a critique or observation, since that feels like a feature, not a bug. i love how he sounds on that chorus except for the high part right before the bridge (but its nailed in the outro)

The pool break feels like an inside joke

the WFS crackle shouldnt be there. same with the end of the Upper Hand outro. That outro has not fully connected with me either despite the fact it checks like every box for me.

with the caveat that i also love the sound of that jimmy buffet riff (just ever so sad and wistful) i think its necessary. This is meant to evoke feelings of paradise and the tragedy that even good things end

The pool break is a nod to the way The Last Waltz kicks off. Same pool table too, no?

https://youtu.be/m7_GiJJvY1g?si=IBx2Y9vZYvO5N8xS