Red Mosquito

tragabigzanda wrote:Ugh more like Waitaton

hard agree

I had a few moments this morning, so here is what has been said about each track in the reviews we have archived (guerilla candy isn't included as it didn't load)

Who Ever Said

“All the answers will be found/ In the mistakes that we have made…” elongates Vedder — not unlike triple-underlining a thesis in red — on the driving “Who Ever Said”. It’s the first Pearl Jam opener in several albums that feels less gateway and more speedway, a chugging — but not clean-running — beast that’s more interested in its own race than pacing the rest of the album. Just as you sense the song petering out, it forgoes the pit for several more laps that find Vedder flexing his throat and clutching his resolve.

the best of the album’s rock songs successfully reconfigure core elements of the band with tiny gestures towards something new. Opener “Who Ever Said” also sounds like it could’ve been on at least half of Pearl Jam’s albums, but this time around that’s decidedly a good thing, with a quintessentially Pearl Jam chorus and a long wandering passage that makes the last refrain hit even harder. “

Album opener “Who Ever Said” doubles as Vedder’s mantra for hope, as he sings, “Whoever said, ‘It’s all been said,’ gave up on satisfaction,” between Pete Townshend-inspired licks and a New Wave-style guitar solo.

And the opening "Who Ever Said," all blaring guitars and earnest fury, paves the way for things to come.

If you’re somehow new to Pearl Jam, the stomping opener “Who Ever Said” will essentially explain the formula they’ve used to fill stadiums since their 1991 breakthrough album, Ten. Take ‘70s hard rock swagger and blend in West Coast progressivism, add ferocious guitars, pounding drums, then cover the whole thing with the strongest baritone voice of the ‘90s. Its chorus also contains Gigaton’s mission statement: “Whoever said ‘It’s all been said,” gave up on satisfaction.” Here’s Vedder, speaking directly to us, promising this isn’t over by a long shot. It comes across as both reassuring and defiant. And, thankfully, the rest of the album largely delivers on that commitment.

Superblood Wolfmoon

Likewise, standout second single “Superblood Wolfmoon” roams wild and unpredictable, growling, echoing — sleek and filthy at the same time thanks to Mike McCready’s needle-threading guitar heroics. “This life I love is going way too fast,” Vedder seethes in a fickle, esoteric bluster of love, loss, and hope that accidentally becomes an anthem without all the likely signposts of, say, “The Fixer”. It’s raw, unleashed, and unpredictable songwriting at its best.

As such, Pearl Jam quickly followed “Dance Of The Clairvoyants” with the straightforward “Superblood Wolfmoon,” a song that could’ve appeared on almost any of their albums

the traditionalist arena rock of the second track “Superblood Wolfmoon”—which sounds as though it could’ve been on any of the band’s albums over the past 20 years—

“Superblood Wolfmoon,” fun frat-party garage rock with “Louie Louie”-esque nonsense lyrics

the updated grunge of "Superblood Wolfmoon"

“Superblood Wolfmoon,” a playful, haunted hayride rocker,


Dance of the Clairvoyants

while “Dance of the Clairvoyants” remains as baffling as any Pearl Jam lead single since “Who You Are”, the band’s take on danceable shotgun-shack music makes so much more sense as the trippy, unwinding comedown to the album’s relentless lead tracks.

“Dance Of The Clairvoyants” is built on a more processed, robotically funky beat — Matt Cameron’s versatility now expanded to drum programming — with all kinds of warped tones and little electronic embellishments flashing around a vocal melody that had some David Byrne in its DNA. It’s an odd, catchy song, and while it not might be anything close to avant-garde, hearing Pearl Jam evolve a bit made it a promising introduction to Gigaton.

The album’s other experiments are jarring enough. Much has been made already of the very un-Pearl Jam-like style of lead single, “Dance Of The Clairvoyants,” and it’s far and away the most idiosyncratic offering on Gigaton. With its effected drums, world music bass licks, and near-chanted lyrical phrases, it sounds more like David Byrne fronting Duran Duran than a Pearl Jam song. Lyrically, it’s uneven, with some of Vedder’s more evocative turns of phrase (“Numbers keep falling off the calendar’s floor”) wedded to some truly hoary clunkers (“I’m in love with clairvoyants ’cuz they’re out of this world”). But musically, the change-up of styles (and change-up of musicianship, with multiple members trading instruments on the track) works.

. The music itself can be surprisingly upbeat — from the danceable electro-tinged curveball “Dance of the Clairvoyants”

the Talking Heads-ripping "Dance of the Clairvoyants," where Eddie Vedder's same-as-it-ever-was David Byrne vocal tics almost get in the way of the skittering guitars.

Then, a week later, they released “Dance of the Clairvoyants,” a startling, synth-driven single that got everybody talking again.

Quick Escape

the clashing “Quick Escape” actually swings harder on the back of Jeff Ament’s bass, drummer Matt Cameron’s mix of heavy hitting and fleet fills, and a mind-altering gust of swirling guitars and harmonies.

Quick Escape” might be the best of the bunch. Penned by Jeff Ament and relying on his rumbling basslines, the song rides a grinding, uncomfortable groove underpinning talk of fleeing to far-flung lands to seek refuge from the headlines of the day, before rupturing into a chorus that, no joke, feels like it could’ve been on one of Pearl Jam’s early ’90s releases.

The track immediately following, “Quick Escape,” abruptly pivots in the other direction. It’s a jagged post-punk squall of guitar and methodical, shuffling drums. Distorted and rumbling, with a narrative about traveling all the way to Mars to “find a place Trump hasn’t fucked up yet,” it’s the noisiest moment on the album, though Jeff Ament’s reliable bass work keeps it tethered to the steady grooves that surround it (not surprising, given he’s the credited songwriter), his melodic and pulsing rhythms mirroring the evocative journey sketched out in Vedder’s lyrics.

On “Quick Escape,” a chunky anthem with an echoey, U2-like riff, Vedder details his journey “to find a place Trump hadn’t fucked up yet.”

If you’re attracted to the band for ‘90s nostalgia, “Quick Escape” is just what you’re looking for. It’s got a big Led Zeppelin intro and a soaring Seattle grunge chorus. The music was written by bassist Jeff Ament and Vedder’s lyrics take a more sophisticated approach to political commentary than say, “Bu$hleaguer” from 2002’s Riot Act.

Alright

The mood quickly turns inward on the methodical “It’s Alright”, replete with rhythmic drumming and atmospheric bleeps, a mounting call for self-maintenance and -preservation in times when “you tire of the game,” possibly the best advice any of us can receive in the overwhelming and petty era of Trump. A message much needed that should be well-heeded.

However, Gigaton is quite meditative overall. Picking up from the little tease of “Infallible” and “Pendulum” on Lightning Bolt, the album has a collection of atmospheric mid-tempo tracks and ballads that are probably as close as this era of Pearl Jam is going to get to the yearning mysticism of No Code. Many of them have all of these little spacey textures buoying them, like the keys in “Alright”

“Alright” is a hymn of resistance and reassurance in the face of personal and/or environmental challenges.

Seven Oclock
the expansive “Seven O’Clock” leaves us assembling and searching for footholds in the ether as Vedder pleads for “all hands on deck.”

Mike McCready forgoing guitar theatrics for watery flickers in “Seven O’Clock,” which also boasts one of the easiest, prettiest earworm melodies Pearl Jam have written in some time.

“Seven O’Clock,” a midtempo anthem that serves as the record’s centerpiece, begins with a stately drumbeat and a gently jangling guitar sound familiar from the band’s catalogue of more upbeat Americana tracks, from No Code’s “Off He Goes” to more recent feel-good offerings like “Speed Of Sound” from 2009’s Backspacer. As the chorus kicks in, a wash of swooning synths breaks over the proceedings, as everything from phasers to Peter Gabriel-like vocal effects are unleashed over a deconstructed drum beat. Another Vedder manifesto to enlightenment, as he insists “this fucked-up situation calls for all hands on deck,” the song retains the soaring vibe of similar “don’t let the bastards grind you down” tracks like Backspacer’s “Amongst The Waves,” even if the singer can’t help falling back into sniping at the idiot-in-chief. (“Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse come forged the North and West / Then there’s Sitting Bullshit as our current president.”)

” On the surprisingly Springsteen-y standout “Seven O’clock,” he name-checks indigenous leaders Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, mythic insurgents who stood up to the U.S. government, and calls the president “Sitting Bullshit.”

These moments are divided among more risky cuts such as the meditative "Seven O'Clock," which is adorned with swirling colors of sound

Seven O’Clock” deals with loss and grief, encouraging listeners to “Swim sideways from this undertow and do not be deterred.

Never Destination
Similarly, the straight-ahead “Never Destination”, a full-throttled medley of other rock songs you’ve heard before, might have been scrapped (or, worse, ignored) on other albums but feels like the perfect rallying cry after the expansive “Seven O’Clock” leaves us assembling and searching for footholds in the ether as Vedder pleads for “all hands on deck.”

The uptempo, riff-driven songs on Gigaton skew towards the latter format, with “Never Destination” and “Take The Long Way” similarly bearing the kind of familiarity that will comfort some fans and sound like placeholders to others. If you’re in the latter camp, know that all of them at least seem like they will be fun live, and “Take The Long Way” has some cool melodies that are easy to get stuck in your head.

“Never Destination” leaps right back into the churning alternarock fray, with classic riffs and a driving beat that make it a welcome addition to the “fun-and-angry PJ songs” canon. (Weirdly, it also makes time to shout out Sean Penn’s execrable Bob Honey character, probably the only song that has ever or will ever do so.)

he praises the titular character from Sean Penn’s Trump-inspired satirical novel Bob Honey Who Just Do Stuff between avalanche riffs in “Never Destination”

throwback "Never Destination" that charges like a Vitalogy-era outtake, complete with snarling vocals and distorted-guitar riffing.


Take the Long Way

The uptempo, riff-driven songs on Gigaton skew towards the latter format, with “Never Destination” and “Take The Long Way” similarly bearing the kind of familiarity that will comfort some fans and sound like placeholders to others. If you’re in the latter camp, know that all of them at least seem like they will be fun live, and “Take The Long Way” has some cool melodies that are easy to get stuck in your head.

” to the Soundgarden-size grunge-hulk “Take the Long Way,” penned by drummer Matt Cameron,

Take The Long Way,” penned by drummer Matt Cameron, blends the band’s occasional forays into ’70s punk with almost cock-rock riffing, like a Night Ranger song stumbled into the room and got swallowed up by the band. Stone Gossard concoction

Take the Long Way” was written and sung by drummer Matt Cameron and features the first female backing vocals on any official Pearl Jam release (credited to Meagan Grandall aka Lemolo)

Buckle Up

The Stone Gossard-penned “Buckle Up” gently sways in as the album’s obvious outlier, a lullaby-like arrangement over ambling guitar that feels at odds with the song’s message if not always Vedder’s delivery.

The final act of the album is particularly ruminative, starting with the hazy lope of “Buckle Up,” a dreamlike Stone Gossard composition. With a lilting guitar line reminiscent of R.E.M.’s “We Walk” and Eddie Vedder in full reverie, plus a part where background vocals and guitar fuzz mimic a horn section, it’s sneakily one of the weirdest songs on the album and should pleasantly surprise fans of middle-era Pearl Jam

Buckle Up” is a 3/4 amble driven by a slick guitar lick and buttressed by some unusual instrumentation (is that a kazoo at the halfway point?) and Ament on the keys.

While “Buckle Up,” with words, music, and vocals from guitarist Stone Gossard, directly addresses death and riffs on the bioethics oath of “Primum non-nocere” (“First, do no harm”).

Comes then Goes

The acoustic “Comes Then Goes” does just what its title suggests without leaving any memorable impression.

. Next, the spare “Comes Then Goes” is mostly just Vedder and a resonant, tumbling acoustic guitar.

A troubled elegy to failing human connection, “Comes Then Goes” is not unlike the quieter sequences from Vedder’s Into The Wild soundtrack, a ballad with more muscular chords and his genteel delivery masking the darker bite of lyrics like, “Like you, I keep it in / thought you found a game you could win / it’s all vivisection in the end.” The counterpoint to the traditionalist arena rock of the second track “Superblood Wolfmoon”—which sounds as though it could’ve been on any of the band’s albums over the past 20 years—the track brings a melancholy rare to the record as a whole.

Come Then Goes” is a poignant acoustic eulogy for a fallen friend (perhaps the late Chris Cornell),

Retrograde

The record’s beautiful and airy closing tracks, “Retrograde” and the repurposed “River Cross”, offer much more in terms of message and ingenuity — Vedder’s soaring fade-out on the former and the latter’s use of pump organ stick out, in particular — but end proceedings on an intangible note that dissipates in the air and escapes through the listener’s fingers.

A couple minutes in, “Retrograde” gives way to a final section that blooms into ghostly, elemental sounds, Vedder howling as an echo in the distance in full “Hard Sun” mode. It’s a gorgeous reminder of what he can do with his voice when he goes into that far-seeing place

The unlikely synthesis of styles might be best embodied by “Retrograde,” the penultimate track on the record, with music credited to guitarist Mike McCready. Starting with a flourish of a guitar strum, it begins gently enough, with some very Zeppelin-esque guitar work contained in the acoustic sounds undergirding Vedder’s soulful warble. It fits neatly into the Pearl Jam canon of easygoing back-half-of-the-record offerings. Then with two minutes remaining, it opens up into an expansive combination of layered vocal harmonies, finger-picking melodicism, and frenetic drum workouts, like a combination of The Who and Pink Floyd, a complex fusion of electronic and organic sounds. It’s still recognizably Pearl Jam, but harboring just enough different instrumentation and arrangement to feel like something new.

River Cross

The record’s beautiful and airy closing tracks, “Retrograde” and the repurposed “River Cross”, offer much more in terms of message and ingenuity — Vedder’s soaring fade-out on the former and the latter’s use of pump organ stick out, in particular — but end proceedings on an intangible note that dissipates in the air and escapes through the listener’s fingers.

When a portion of closer “River Cross” premiered by way of a cheesy Super Bowl commercial narrated by Harrison Ford, it seemed as if it would be the kind of late-era Pearl Jam composition that strove for a forced climax. Instead, it’s a remarkably effective finale to the album, Vedder singing over organ drones and distant thunder percussion. It’s almost prayer-like, ending Gigaton with a moment of careful, uneasy hope, particularly as Vedder locks into his final refrain, “Won’t hold us down.”

By the time “River Cross,” the album closer, begins its pump organ soundscape and Matt Cameron’s toms enact a thundering but distant tribal beat, the sonic meanderings of the record have returned to one of Vedder’s favorite themes: Longing sparked by the beauty of nature, and our insignificance in the face of earthly wonder. Despite the oddly punchy bass melody and use of kalimba (a metallic African thumb piano), it feels like paradigmatic Pearl Jam.

and paints a bleak picture on the gospel-tinged closing track, “River Cross,” describing how “the government thrives on discontent . . . proselytizing and profitizing as our will all but disappears.” / River Cross” Vedder begs us all to “share the light” over his own pump-organ line. Gigaton is a testament to how Pearl Jam’s own deeply held dissatisfaction still burns brighter than ever.

It's all very timely as well as nostalgic, and on the closing "River Cross," guided by pump organ, they wrap it all up into a solemn dirge about reflection, loss and carrying on

And in terms of what stood out to reviewers - of the 6 reviews used

Who Ever Said: 5/6
Superblood WolfomoonL 6/6
Dance of the Clairvoyants: 6/6
QUick Escape: 5/6
Alright: 3/6
Seven OClock: 6/6
Never Destination: 5/6
Take the Long Way: 3/6
Buckle Up: 4/6
Comes then Goes: 4/6
Retrograde: 3/6
River Cross: 5/6


Rivercross, Seven Oclock, Who Ever Said, and Quick Escape seem like the most universally praised of the songs we've yet to hear

Fantastic effort on your part, Stip...cheers

This needs to leak now

the first song I'm going to listen to when I get the leak is "Never Destination"; I want to see how low the bar goes

stip wrote:I had a few moments this morning

Thanks stip. Appreciate it.

Ms Harmless wrote:the first song I'm going to listen to when I get the leak is "Never Destination"; I want to see how low the bar goes

Front to back first listen or GTFO

oneway23 wrote:

Ms Harmless wrote:the first song I'm going to listen to when I get the leak is "Never Destination"; I want to see how low the bar goes

Front to back first listen or GTFO

Bammer wrote:

oneway23 wrote:

Ms Harmless wrote:the first song I'm going to listen to when I get the leak is "Never Destination"; I want to see how low the bar goes

Front to back first listen or GTFO

my shadow left me long ago

GuerillaCandy;

Pearl Jam’s ‘Gigaton’: a hopeful record for angry times
March 9, 2020 - by Travis Hay - 1 Comment
Pearl Jam Gigaton album cover art
Global warming. School shootings. An administration that came to rise with the help of fearmongering and fake news. These are all ingredients for a potentially angry Pearl Jam album. And while it’d be very easy for Eddie Vedder and the rest of Pearl Jam to come out fired up with guns blazing, especially during an election year, that’s not exactly what “Gigaton” delivers.

Yes, the band’s anger is present but that’s not the main takeaway on “Gigaton.” Despite all the anger and frustrations, “Gigaton” is a hopeful album. Themes of despair, grief and impending global doom are present, but the band never sounds defeated and isn’t throwing in the towel. In fact, it’s evident they’re intent on doing quite the opposite.

Throughout the record’s 12 tracks the group sounds optimistic, invigorated and ready to fight the good fight. While the current state of global affairs may make it feel like we are all stacking deck chairs on the Titanic, “Gigaton” makes it clear the band plans to fight like hell keep us all afloat and maybe even right the ship.

That intent to fight is clear from the start with the hard-driving album opener “Who Ever Said,” where Vedder sings about “sideways talk poisoning our thoughts” and how he won’t give up until he’s satisfied things have improved. The group’s willingness to battle and desire for a better future are lyrical themes that hold the album together.

Taken as a whole, “Gigaton,” the band’s 11th studio album and first in seven years, sounds like a legacy rock band making a late-career album, as it should. It’s not a bunch of old rockers in their fifties making the same music they made when they were in their twenties. Nobody wants to hear that and Pearl Jam knows it.

That said, there are a few left turns here, most notably the lead single, and third track on the album, “Dance of the Clairvoyants,” a song that has drawn comparisons to Talking Heads and 80s-inspired dance rock. But fans concerned the band has gone off the deep end and decided to go all-in on dance music, which might be the grunge analog to Dylan going electric, needn’t worry because “Dance of the Clairvoyants” is the most experimental song on the album.

The song is also one of the strongest tracks on the record and a refreshing example of a band successfully moving outside of its comfort zone. Hopefully, it’s a sign of what’s to come on whatever the band releases after “Gigaton” or there are some choice b-sides released that follow this path. Also, hopefully, whatever the band releases after “Gigaton” doesn’t take more than seven years to see the light of day because this album is a mighty addition to the Pearl Jam canon.

The absence of the band’s longtime collaborator Brendan O’Brien in the producer chair may have allowed for fresh ideas to enter the studio and resulted in a little more experimentation (O’Brien is present on the tracks “Quick Escape” and “Retrograde” where he provides keyboard support.). “Gigaton” is co-produced by Pearl Jam and first-time producer Josh Evans, who has worked closely with the band in other capacities in the past. His involvement seems to have encouraged the group to expand its repertoire by adding things like programmed drums and other adventurous-for-Pearl Jam musical flourishes.

Some minor atypical electronic elements are present outside of “Clairvoyants” and they fit right in, including a killer drum loop by Jeff Ament on “Quick Escape” and some plinky electronic keys on “Alright.” The former is a rocker that rides a nice fuzzy chug and ends with about a minute-and-a-half of ripping guitar work by Mike McCready. It’s a song about leaving the planet to live on Mars due to environmental damage and it’s the only that address the president by name. “Crossed the border to Morocco/ Kashmir then Marakesh/ The lengths we had to go to then/To find a place Trump hadn’t fucked up yet.”

Speaking of politics, Vedder pulls no punches on his thoughts about the current administration. There’s nothing as overtly political as “Riot Act” presidential-basher “Bushleaguer” on the album (if there was it likely would’ve made the band a massive target for a tirade of tweets from the commander-in-chief and plenty of FOX News soundbites) but Vedder gets a couple of jabs in.

Aside from “Quick Escape” there’s “Seven O’Clock,” a slower song with Vedder delivering vocals in a Springsteen-esque cadence. Here, Vedder references Native American leaders Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse and then sings “… there’s Sitting Bullshit as our sitting president.”

“Seven O’Clock” is one of the many songs where the band’s determination to fight and rise above the global state of turmoil is present. The band has always been politically active and during its time since the release of 2013’s “Lightning Bolt” its members have been involved with various political campaigns and demonstrations including the annual Women’s March. On the song, Vedder notes that politics is a participatory sport declaring “freedom is a verb” and ends the song saying there is “much to be done,” delivering it as an optimistic closing cadence.

While Vedder may be front and center at all times, Pearl Jam isn’t just Vedder’s vehicle for personal expression. The strongest entries in Pearl Jam’s catalog are albums where the group is heard as the sum of all its parts and “Gigaton” fits that description. The album sees every member of the band except for guitarist Mike McCready writing lyrics. Coincidentally, McCready is also the lone member of the band who has not released a solo album.

Bassist Jeff Ament released his third solo record and an album with his side project RNDM during the seven years since “Lightning Bolt” and drummer Matt Cameron released a solo album, his first, during that time. The Cameron-penned “Take The Long Way,” which strengthens the back half of “Gigaton,” is a spirited, hard-charging song. Cameron wrote the lyrics and music for the song and it is the first Pearl Jam song to feature a credited backing vocalist, with Lemolo’s Megan Crandall providing support.

Ament contributes the words and music to “Alright” a slightly introspective song about being okay with unplugging and being alone with your thoughts and feelings. Vedder sings “It’s alright to be alone/To listen for a heartbeat it’s your own/It’s alright, to quiet up/ To disappear in thin air, it’s your own.”

Elsewhere on the album, the anger and determination to fight continues to appear on “Never Destination,” a song that could pass for something out of The Who’s songbook. Vedder sings “There’s an angry sea/Ocean in my eyes/The waves are rolling/I’m becoming blind” while McCready and guitarist Stone Gossard expertly rein in The Who influence and make it into a Pearl Jam song.

The album winds down with three quieter numbers, which is a bit of harsh comedown for an angry album. The first, “Comes Then Goes,” is a somber song that finds Vedder with an acoustic guitar grieving over a lost relationship and longing for it to return. This is the first album the band has released since the death of their close friend and collaborator Chris Cornell and his death is never referenced on the record. But it’s not much of a stretch to imagine Cornell as one of the inspirations for this song, especially with lyrics “The Queen of Collections took your time/ Sadness comes ’cause some of it was mine.”

Closing track “River Cross” is a song Vedder has been performing during his solo concerts as far back as 2017. It’s the lone song that could pass as a ballad and the full band version on “Gigaton” adds drums, keys and kalimba, a small African instrument that also appears on “Alright.”

Overall, the album is Pearl Jam’s best record in more than a decade. There aren’t many risks taken musically, but the collection of songs on “Gigaton” showcase the group’s versatility and evolution as songwriters. It’s closer to the darkness and anger found on “Riot Act” and “Binaural” than the experimentation of “No Code” or harder edges of “Vs.” and “Vitalogy.” However, it contains elements of all of those albums, as well as the graceful aging the group displayed on “Lightning Bolt,” making it an excellent addition to the Pearl Jam catalog.

Throughout “Gigaton” it’s clear the band knows where its bread is buttered and Pearl Jam plays to its strengths instead of attempting to challenge listeners. While this may be seen as playing it safe, it’s actually quite tactful since the songs address the band’s frustration with the current state of global affairs to its very large, and very loyal, audience. This allows Pearl Jam to do one of the things it has always done best with its music, which is to activate its fanbase around important issues.

So if the ship is indeed sinking, Pearl Jam is getting the lifeboats ready.

“Gigaton” will be released March 27, 2020. The album is currently available for preorder from Monkeywrench Records.

"Buckle Up" sounds like it will be good

Can someone please explain what a chugging — but not clean-running — beast is?

I think "chugging and distorted" might have made more sense

fucking leak alreadyyyyyy

theplatypus wrote:"Buckle Up" sounds like it will be good

It sounds like it could be classic Stone. The descriptions of "lullaby" and guitars that sound like horn sections make me think of All Those Yesterdays, mixed with his All or None like 3/4 shuffle.