CD Odyssey Disc 1755: Pearl Jam

I’m tired and really want to just couch surf and watch the Olympics until I fall asleep. However, I am ready to move on and the rules say that’s not possible until I write the review. Rules are rules, monkey! Also, music is the best!

Disc 1755 is…. Dark Matter

Artist: Pearl Jam

Year of Release: 2024

What’s up with the Cover? The Eye of Sauron, if the Dark Lord of Mordor was a math nerd.

Alternatively, this could be an early example of an incandescent light bulb if it were powered by…the dark forces of the One Ring of Power!

OK, OK. Maybe it is just a laser light show at a perfectly ordinary rock concert where the lead singer is…the Mouth of Sauron!

Hey, don’t blame me. Blame this cover. And maybe those cable movie channel guys who put the Lord of the Rings movies on constant rotation.

How I Came To Know It: I’m a longtime fan of the band, and tend to buy their records when they release them.

How It Stacks Up: I have 13 Pearl Jam albums. This likely means I should hire a hobbit burglar for good luck. Not counting the hobbit, I rank “Dark Matter” at #10, displacing 2020’s “Gigaton” in the process. Here’s the full list, since I have once again reviewed the full collection.

Also, an update – it was brought to my attention that I may have underrated their eponymous “Avocado” record. I have gone back, checked the tape and upon further review…I agree. I’ve moved it up one spot:

1. Yield: 5 stars (reviewed at Disc 464)
2. Ten: 5 stars (reviewed at Disc 153)
3. Vs.: 5 stars (reviewed at Disc 46)
4. Riot Act: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 1113)
5. Lost Dogs: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 109)
6. Vitalogy: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 457)
7. Self-Titled: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 327)
8. Lightning Bolt: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 972)
9. No Code: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 805)
10. Dark Matter: 3 stars (reviewed right here)
11. Gigaton: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 1435)
12. Backspacer: 2 stars (reviewed at Disc 45)
13. Binaural: 2 stars (reviewed at Disc 1478)

Ratings: 3 stars

I’ll be honest – I wasn’t in the mood for Pearl Jam when I rolled this album. I knew I liked “Dark Matter” on my first listen, and had high hopes for rounds two, three and beyond, but I just wasn’t feeling the grunge this week. For all that, the record was able to win me over and establish its place as worthy in the crowded field of excellence that is the career of Pearl Jam.

“Dark Matter” is very much a return to the old ways, and sounds more like Pearl Jam in their mid-career, minus some of the weirder experimentation they used to throw in. I was never a big fan of all the crazy left turns in their music, and preferred when they just hit a groove and rocked out. In that way, “Dark Matter” did not disappoint, finding the middle of the road in Pearl Jam’s classic grunge-groove, and riding it right down the centre line. You shouldn’t expect something new and creatively different on this record, but what they do they do very well, once again.

Eddie Vedder’s vocals have held up well against Father Time even as he closes in on sixty. That signature back of the throat rock croon – often imitated, never matched – remains the star of the show. He no longer blows the doors off, but he’s more of a veteran on how to use it now, relying a bit more on phrasing to land the emotional gravitas than just raw power.

“Dark Matter” is a great driving record, with lots of up-tempo groove, with a layered production that lets you surf the wave equally well no matter where in the mix your ear decides to latch on.

The songwriting is solid throughout. I admit I didn’t dive into the lyrics in that deep way that a Pearl Jam song requires. Sure Vedder’s emotional stream-of-consciousness can sometimes leave you confused, but that’s part of the journey. Instead, to my shame, I skated across the top a bit, but when I did dive in on some of the better tracks like “Wreckage” and “Scared of Fear,” I was not disappointed.

They also get their funk shoes on, with the title track having a steel spring like reverb that makes you want to take corners too fast on a motorcycle, or maybe go hang-gliding. Dangerously close to out of control, but holding one through sheer centrifugal force and a few well-placed melodic up-drafts.

Despite this album being squarely in the centre of their sound, they manage to put out feelers into other styles. “Running” is punk adjacent, screeching and clawing away with wild abandon and “Something Special” has a bit of alt-country in its bones that made me want to hear it re-recorded with some steel guitar. Sadly, the boys stick with the rock and the roll, but it is still good.

We’ve become a bit spoiled by Pearl Jam’s greatness over the years, and it makes it easy to affect a yawn when they deliver a great song, but I encourage listeners to take “Dark Matter” on its own merits as much as you can. Don’t be that dick who goes on about how you prefer their earlier records. We all like those records and liking them to the exclusion of anything that comes after doesn’t make you special in the least. Branch out and give this new experience a listen or two. It’s worth it.

Best tracks:  Scared of Fear, Wreckage, Dark Matter, Setting Sun