Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

[Jorge]

It's not a Brendan O'Brien album.

I mean it is, in that he produced it. But it's not his name on the jacket.

It's a Pearl Jam song and the buck stops with them. We can blame BO'B all we want but I am certain he merely helped them make the song they wanted to make. Especially considering LB is an independently produced album (no outside label pressures)

[VinylGuy]

Future Days is awful. The acoustic live version from that last of us web thing was miles better

[Vindicator]

"We are greeted to the album with an ambient intro not unlike we heard on Gigaton, but with a somewhat more ominous vibe. The opening guitar chords of “Scared of Fear” clears that fog with a decent summation of what’s in store for the rest of the album."

Literally zero description of the track itself. God these reviews suck

[Thurman Murman]

It's not a Brendan O'Brien album.

I mean it is, in that he produced it. But it's not his name on the jacket.

It's a Pearl Jam song and the buck stops with them. We can blame BO'B all we want but I am certain he merely helped them make the song they wanted to make. Especially considering LB is an independently produced album (no outside label pressures)

Exactly...i get that it was probably BOB's influence to tack on that intro/outro but ultimately the band signed off on it and for me at least it makes the song unlistenable.

[oneway23]

It's not a Brendan O'Brien album.

I mean it is, in that he produced it. But it's not his name on the jacket.

It's a Pearl Jam song and the buck stops with them. We can blame BO'B all we want but I am certain he merely helped them make the song they wanted to make. Especially considering LB is an independently produced album (no outside label pressures)

All valid. Even if he suggested the keys and personally grates because he acts like he's in the band all the time by saying, "we" in interviews, it is absolutely true that they had to agree to his shiteous contributions.

Still, I'm glad they've shifted.

[RockPusher]

https://www.scenepointblank.com/reviews/pearl-jam/dark-matter/?fbclid=IwAR3oWECQm5PveShQhZ2kAWE08X-FGgPqhRQgVmxFpryn3Scu89lqV9Z58zQ

"Props to producer Andrew Watt for really dialing in the drums on the album."

LOL. I think few here will get past that part of the review.

[DDWJMUVW]

"We are greeted to the album with an ambient intro not unlike we heard on Gigaton, but with a somewhat more ominous vibe. The opening guitar chords of “Scared of Fear” clears that fog with a decent summation of what’s in store for the rest of the album."

Literally zero description of the track itself. God these reviews suck

Super light on track descriptions. Just a few overall opinions here and there.

When a music journalist does this, you have to seriously question the integrity of their scoring system.

[RockPusher]

It's not a Brendan O'Brien album.

I mean it is, in that he produced it. But it's not his name on the jacket.

It's a Pearl Jam song and the buck stops with them. We can blame BO'B all we want but I am certain he merely helped them make the song they wanted to make. Especially considering LB is an independently produced album (no outside label pressures)

I was specifically referencing the piano parts that Thurman Murman mentioned. Played by, and no doubt from the mind of, BO'B. Obviously signed off on by the band, but still...

[oneway23]

They're really giving this to anyone with a keyboard and a shitty wordpress blog, aren't they?

[Homeboyd]

"We are greeted to the album with an ambient intro not unlike we heard on Gigaton, but with a somewhat more ominous vibe. The opening guitar chords of “Scared of Fear” clears that fog with a decent summation of what’s in store for the rest of the album."

Literally zero description of the track itself. God these reviews suck

These reviews do indeed suck...this line should be applauded here: "Props to producer Andrew Watt for really dialing in the drums on the album."

[stip]

They're really giving this to anyone with a keyboard and a shitty wordpress blog, aren't they?

not everyone!

[Hypnos]

Another thing, the story that Ed didn't want to include Betterman on Vs/Vitalogy for fear of it being a radio hit and asked Brendan to create a bittersweet piano base, is contrasted with the same situation on FD but in reverse, with BOB creating the most sentimental and generic piece of music, perfect for inclusion in any TV drama. It's those cases of Eddie vs. Eddie that upset the fan.

[Clem Halibut]

These reviewers are just as bad as the folks at the London Listening Party.

I hate music reviews
So much space and words wasted on utter nonsense
They hardly ever provide any insight into what the album sounds like
PJ reviews in particular always follow the same boring pattern of blabber
Grunge, Nirvana, Ticketmaster, Mother Love Bone, No Videos, Eddie hated being famous
Then all they do is try to compare new songs to older PJ songs whilst calling albums like Yield and No Code classic albums.
Thinking that we all forgot about how the same magazine utterly trashed those albums when they originally were released.

[oneway23]

They're really giving this to anyone with a keyboard and a shitty wordpress blog, aren't they?

not everyone!

I'll bet they knew you had 60 appraisals to do for your direct reports and didn't want to throw you off the straight and narrow

[digster]

Future Days is quiet, lovely little song that is especially poignant when you think about how it's the Eddie of Ten/Vs/Vitalogy who is singing it - that he ends up here is a victory

Yep. It's like some people fault Ed for not being pissed off all the time like he was in the early/mid 90s. That's on them though, not Ed.

There really isn't some complex psychological underpinning to all of this; most people who don't like it do so because they think it's a bad song.

But unpacking WHY people think it's a bad song is interesting.

I think my main point was I don't think people dislike Future Days because they secretly hate that Eddie's happy.

[Val]

They haven’t given us anything today!!!

[Tj]

They revealed Navy Bean 2 as a hidden track following Setting Sun

[lecherouslittlestump]

Clip of You're Fired! (The President) (Live) is up

[Jorge]

No More Bags announced as follow-up EP

[stip]

Future Days is quiet, lovely little song that is especially poignant when you think about how it's the Eddie of Ten/Vs/Vitalogy who is singing it - that he ends up here is a victory

Yep. It's like some people fault Ed for not being pissed off all the time like he was in the early/mid 90s. That's on them though, not Ed.

There really isn't some complex psychological underpinning to all of this; most people who don't like it do so because they think it's a bad song.

But unpacking WHY people think it's a bad song is interesting.

I think my main point was I don't think people dislike Future Days because they secretly hate that Eddie's happy.

not that baldly, but i do think for many fans the ‘happier’ songs require a greater conceptual leap - they don’t intrinsically sound like what pearl jam is supposed to be. I mean its right there in a lot of the discourse around sirens, just breath, future days.

it would be reductive to say that is all it is, but i wouldn’t pretend its not a factor either.