Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

General Pearl Jam discussion.
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Rank Dark Matter

5 Stars
119
56%
4 Stars
65
31%
3 Stars
19
9%
2 Stars
2
1%
2 Star
1
0%
%#*! Andrew Watt
5
2%
 
Total votes: 211

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stip
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Re: Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

Post by stip »

okay, you know what. I can hear that now
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DDWJMUVW
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Re: Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

Post by DDWJMUVW »

I agree it takes a bit of trying haha.

Maybe it’s simply the power of suggestion but, I don’t know, I do get tinges of both.

As an aside, new KOL track split screen - just listened. Really like it. Much better than the mustang song!

Back to PJ. Man I hope those first two tracks just SLAY like Go into Animal (speaking of).
"For me, it's all about the time we're having just playing the songs. So if it's kind of a mindless good time, then....."
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Re: Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

Post by IndioShoeThrower »

https://www.stereogum.com/2257306/prema ... valuation/

Shockingly, out of all the ways Pearl Jam have previewed Dark Matter, the promise of a return to their early essence often feels the most apt. Perhaps it is partially attributable to the band’s assessment of Watt as a lifelong fan who urged them to lean into sounds and quirks he’s loved in their music since he was a kid. More scholarly Pearl Jam listeners may find ways to tie a song like “Wreckage” to a blearier Binaural or Riot Act-era ballad, but its autumnal guitars are one of those elements that scream “’90s Pearl Jam.” And there are tiny moments like that throughout Dark Matter, from the casually anthemic chorus Vedder spins on “Got To Give” to the reverbed percussion that opens “Setting Sun.” One of the album’s most striking tracks is “Waiting For Stevie,” one of the first songs completed in the initial Watt session. It feels not like a track beamed in from 1991, but an honest-to-god proper descendent of that iteration of Pearl Jam, fittingly weathered by time but still gleaming.
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Val
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Re: Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

Post by Val »

Man these reviews are making me edgy, but in a good way
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Re: Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

Post by Val »

What's an "autumnal guitar" btw?
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tragabigzanda
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Re: Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

Post by tragabigzanda »

pearl jam sucks now
Last edited by tragabigzanda on Thu January 01, 2026 6:01 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Val
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Re: Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

Post by Val »

I can see how that would work on a "bleary Binaural-era ballad"
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Re: Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

Post by Homeboyd »

Too many good reviews…we need the inevitable Pitchfork 4.8/10 to provide some perspective lol.
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tragabigzanda
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Re: Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

Post by tragabigzanda »

pearl jam sucks now
Last edited by tragabigzanda on Thu January 01, 2026 6:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

Post by Strat »

tragabigzanda wrote:
Homeboyd wrote:Too many good reviews…we need the inevitable Pitchfork 4.8/10 to provide some perspective lol.
Feels high
Stop it
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Jaeti
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Re: Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

Post by Jaeti »

"Autumnal." Give me moar.
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Re: Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

Post by E.H. Ruddock »

Fall or None
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Re: Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

Post by E.H. Ruddock »

Leafin' Here
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Re: Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

Post by E.H. Ruddock »

Orange, Red, Yellow
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Re: Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

Post by E.H. Ruddock »

Rake the Long Way
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Re: Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

Post by Val »

Although I must admit that when it comes to raw thrashing I much prefer the slightly more sophisticated grit of Ministry to Husker Du’s head on straightforwardness
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Re: Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

Post by Val »

E.H. Ruddock wrote:Rake the Long Way
:haha:
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Re: Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

Post by E.H. Ruddock »

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Re: Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

Post by Homeboyd »

tragabigzanda wrote:
Homeboyd wrote:Too many good reviews…we need the inevitable Pitchfork 4.8/10 to provide some perspective lol.
Feels high
I was curious, so here are all the Pitchfork review scores for Pearl Jam:

Vs./Vitalogy Reissue: 7.6
Ten Reissue: 6.7
Gigaton: 6.2
Rearviewmirror: 5.9
Self-Titled: 5.5
Lightning Bolt: 5.0
Riot Act: 4.9
Backspacer: 4.6
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Re: Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

Post by WaitingForBluey »

"While not exactly a complete apology for Gigaton, the comments the band have made thus far have an implicit undertone: If you didn’t like reflective aging Pearl Jam, don’t worry, we turned the guitars back up." Oh geez, don't say it ain't so. My worst nightmare.
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