Dark Matter: Official Album Thread

[Ms Harmless]

Premature to say this based on the sound quality of the leak. But there's an energy to the songs that reinforces how sterile and lifeless Backspacer and Lightning Bolt sounded.

Ditching B'OB was the best thing they ever did.

lecherous, you are nothing if not correct; this is as if both albums did it right

[dimejinky99]

i am not the first person to make this observation
, but almost all these songs (especially the 4:30+ ones) all have a live feel to them - sticking with their core structure but a loose, extended, improvisational approach to them.

This is where I was going.

It all feels like Vs. That whole period. In a great way.

[Lmdmusic]

I will always remember the crying baby. In a good way.

There is a little kid (I think) that claps after almost every song and it's awesome. (At least I think that's what's happening, please don't correct me if I'm wrong lol).

It was my daughter , she did good for the first half of the album but then was getting tired, and she loves the new album, she is more pj then Taylor Swift lol

[lecherouslittlestump]

I will always remember the crying baby. In a good way.

There is a little kid (I think) that claps after almost every song and it's awesome. (At least I think that's what's happening, please don't correct me if I'm wrong lol).

It was my daughter , she did good for the first half of the album but then was getting tired, and she loves the new album, she is more pj then Taylor Swift lol

Thanks so much for sharing the recording

[stip]

I will always remember the crying baby. In a good way.

There is a little kid (I think) that claps after almost every song and it's awesome. (At least I think that's what's happening, please don't correct me if I'm wrong lol).

It was my daughter , she did good for the first half of the album but then was getting tired, and she loves the new album, she is more pj then Taylor Swift lol

she will forever now be a part of Pearl Jam (or at least RM) lore

[stip]

i gave the rockpusher record a listen, and i am still a bit surprised at how little this record matches what I had fleshed out in my head. Dark Matter is seemingly as much an outlier as Dance was (despite not seeming so on first listen).

[spike]

what an effort. catchiest record since yield.

[Ms Harmless]

my favourite three so far:

Won't Tell, Upper Hand, Setting Sun

[dimejinky99]

Rising from the ashes of mother love bone

[Val]

what an effort. catchiest record since yield.

I caught that before the edit!

[Ms Harmless]

haha!

[Mr.x]

Oh so a leak? Missed it this weekend.

Hint hint?

[dprival78]

The only question remaining now is whether or not eddy will wear a hat on the Stern show

[Ms Harmless]

Oh so a leak? Missed it this weekend.

Hint hint?

we're just listening to a phone recording, no leak

[oftheearth]

i am not the first person to make this observation
, but almost all these songs (especially the 4:30+ ones) all have a live feel to them - sticking with their core structure but a loose, extended, improvisational approach to them.

Exactly what I was trying to convey but you summed it up in perfectly. Many of the songs do sound improvisational but they go in all these really cool directions that are almost unexpected.

[Release_Me]

what an effort. catchiest record since yield.

Interestingly, I saw this review on Facebook from a fan who attended a listening party yesterday and he also brings up the Yield comparison. I think I agree with most of these sentiments:

My listening party takeaways (about 20 people in attendance at a local record shop)

- Pearl Jam is back (never really gone, but this album is a very strong statement)
- not sure what I am ever going to do when these guys stop making music
- best album since Yield in my opinion.
- if Yield had a baby, this is it. One thing I always loved about Yield is that it has a great mix of heavier stuff, slow songs, mid tempo ballads, and those just a tick before “heavy” rock songs. Yield is the one album that I think is the best conp stylistically.
- album feels “big”- in my opinion, that is what has been missing from some of the more recent albums. You’ll get a song here and there with the patented epic Pearl Jam close, but many songs would end, and you were still waiting for that strong finish where the song soars and really takes off. Eddie really shines on multiple tracks on this album and it has big finishes all over the place.
- about halfway thru Scared of Fear I started getting those new Pearl Jam butterflies like “man, this is gonna be good”- and it was even better than that.
- not a single bad track. The lyrics on Something Special are comically bad and that song would be better served on an Eddie solo album. Musically, it’s actually not bad, but the lyrics were cringe worthy for me.
- McCready is an absolute monster on this album. And Jeff. And MFC. Stone will always be the man.
- if you aren’t a fan of Dark Matter or Running- good news- I would put those two songs in the middle to bottom tier of songs on this album.
- please don’t ever stop making new records, Pearl Jam.
- those last two minutes of Waiting for Stevie I felt like I was back in 1992 pumping my firsts for the Alive solo.
- Setting Sun might be my favorite. Strong album closer.

I’d give an A+ but I have to knock it down to an A because of Something Special. If you are a Pearl Jam fan, you are going to love this album. It definitely has something for everyone, and there are so many different musical influences all over it. Bravo, Pearl Jam!

[E.H. Ruddock]

So I’ve only heard the album at the record store yesterday. I haven’t listened to any of the recordings. I really want to revisit it ASAP but the anticipation of hearing it properly again is kind of fun. Will be interesting to see if i can hold out all week

[Ms Harmless]

the Something Special lyrics are still better than Supersonic's; at least they make logical fucking sense

there's actually only one "cringe" part for me and that's the "working for free" verse; but that's SUPPOSED to be cloyingly sentimental

I don't hear any part of this song and think it lacks self-awareness; Ed knows what he did and should feel fine about it, even if his daughters disown him

[WaitingForBluey]

Welcome back analogdreams! Enjoyed that post (I know I'm probably a few pages behind).

As for politics, I don't recall hearing anything obvious on this album. I think it fits mostly in the uplifting humanism realm.

[Ms Harmless]

Welcome back analogdreams! Enjoyed that post (I know I'm probably a few pages behind).

As for politics, I don't recall hearing anything obvious on this album. I think it fits mostly in the uplifting humanism realm.

I think Dark Matter is the most political, in calling for the accountability of the most powerful and calling out the blaming of the many for the sins of a few