Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

[stip]

also, reflecting a bit, Gigaton is probably the only post riot act recorded where i would praise the sound. its my second favorite stretch of song writing but i almost always have a critique of the recording

[Kevin Davis]

I respect them taking whatever direction they want to take. For a band that is currently averaging 5-ish years between records, I’ve let go of the idea that any one thing they do is necessarily coming at the expense of some other, better thing.

[Jorge]

What if they rented a shed out on a mountain and they wrote and recorded everything by themselves on the mountain and you could hear the sounds of the mountain. They could call it The Mountain

[Strat]

What if they rented a shed out on a mountain and they wrote and recorded everything by themselves on the mountain and you could hear the sounds of the mountain. They could call it The Mountain

[Kevin Davis]

This feels like pun bait, and I am going to take it.

Who Everest Said

[McParadigm]

I respect them taking whatever direction they want to take. For a band that is currently averaging 5-ish years between records, I’ve let go of the idea that any one thing they do is necessarily coming at the expense of some other, better thing.

Yup.

[E.H. Ruddock]

Man, some of you fuss about some weird shit.

[blueviper]

Man, some of you fuss about some weird shit.

well, they think "Strangest Tribe" is the pinnacle of PJ. What do you expect??

[tragabigzanda]

pearl jam sucks now

[wease]

Leaks? What leaks?

[VinylGuy]

I love the approach to DM. Love what we know about the sessions and that band finally went to Shangri La. Feels PJ has been doing albums in their own bubble for a long time, and Gigaton was maybe were they took that approach a little too far, even if the results were great and we have now Josh Evans being a current collaborator.

[liebzz]

I don’t know why I always convince myself that they will build off the momentum of the prior release. I don’t think they’ve actually done that since they made No Code off the momentum of Mirrorball.

[Kevin Davis]

I don’t know why I always convince myself that they will build off the momentum of the prior release. I don’t think they’ve actually done that since they made No Code off the momentum of Mirrorball.

I think there is a pretty clear creative arc up through Riot Act, maybe S/T. But for the most part they just wait too long between records (and do too many projects in between) for that to be the case anymore.

That said, Earthling > Dark Matter is the closest thing we've had to a pair of PJ-related albums that have felt in any way connected for a long time. Unfortunately the connective tissue is the production.

[stip]

What if they rented a shed out on a mountain and they wrote and recorded everything by themselves on the mountain and you could hear the sounds of the mountain. They could call it The Mountain

Tom Waits could produce! He's not busy

[stip]

I don’t know why I always convince myself that they will build off the momentum of the prior release. I don’t think they’ve actually done that since they made No Code off the momentum of Mirrorball.

I think there is a pretty clear creative arc up through Riot Act, maybe S/T. But for the most part they just wait too long between records (and do too many projects in between) for that to be the case anymore.

That said, Earthling > Dark Matter is the closest thing we've had to a pair of PJ-related albums that have felt in any way connected for a long time. Unfortunately the connective tissue is the production.

this is a really good point

[liebzz]

Yeah, building off momentum requires seizing the moment rather than sitting on what you’ve released. They really haven’t done that in a long time.

[Leatherhead]

For all the production issues this album has, at least Eddie doesn't sound like he does on Lightning Bolt.

[epilogue]

New ranking after listening to Dark Matter recently:

Setting Sun
Dark Matter
Got To Give
React, Respond
Upper Hand
Wreckage
Scared of Fear
Won't Tell
Waiting For Stevie
Running
Something Special

[stip]

We've got two of the same top 3, so I can't argue too much.

I'd say currently


Catalog top 5
Waiting for Stevie

5 Stars
Dark Matter
Setting Sun

4.5-5 Stars
Scared of Fear
Wreckage

4-4.5 Stars
Running
React Respond

4 Stars
Upper Hand

3.5 Stars-4 stars
Got to Give
Something Special
Won't Tell

[Jorge]

The star rating is totally meaningless if you have a 5 star rating, and then something that is even higher than 5 stars.

I will adjust this for you

5 Stars
Waiting for Stevie

4.5 Stars
Dark Matter
Setting Sun

4 Stars
Scared of Fear
Wreckage

3.5 Stars
Running
React Respond

3 Stars
Upper Hand

2.5 Stars
Got to Give
Something Special
Won't Tell