Dark Matter by Pearl Jam
Dark Matter is the twelfth studio album by American rock band Pearl Jam. It was released on April 19, 2024, through Monkeywrench Records and Republic Records. Background and recording Dark Matter was recorded over three weeks in 2023 at Shangri-La in Malibu, California and, according to a press release, "channels the shared spirit of a group of lifelong creative confidants and brothers in one room playing as if their very lives depended on it". On November 29, 2023, drummer Matt Cameron revealed that they finished a record with assistance from Andrew Watt and that it was "mastered, mixed, ready to go" at the time. On January 5, 2024, guitarist Mike McCready described the album as "a lot heavier" than one might expect, saying that recording was less time-consuming than for their previous record Gigaton, mostly thanks to the involvement from Watt, who was said to have "kicked asses". Later that month, on January 31, the band and Watt debuted Dark Matter in front of a group of fans at the Troubadour in West Hollywood, California, without revealing lyrics or song titles. During the event, Eddie Vedder opined that this is their best work to date and how he could not be prouder of the band. The album’s packaging features light painting art by Alexandr Gnezdilov. The album cover art was crafted using a large self-made kaleidoscope. Each letter visible on the cover was individually captured and handwritten midair with a specially designed flashlight to create the pearlescent effect. On February 13, Pearl Jam announced the album alongside the release of the title track as a lead single. The single was Consequence of Sound's album of the week.
For anyone who’s ever wondered about the durability of Pearl Jam (or any veteran rock band) as they enter their fourth decade together, a brief story: When Eddie Vedder stepped away from the Seattle outfit to make his third solo LP—2022’s extremely fun <i>Earthling</i>—he enjoyed working with producer Andrew Watt so much that his first instinct was to share that feeling with his bandmates. He urged them to quickly meet him at Watt’s LA home studio, no gear or pre-written material necessary. It was all about playing—getting into a room together, splashing around, seeing what happens. It turns out, Vedder’s instincts are still good. Written and recorded with Watt over the course of two sessions—the first at his home and the second, months later, at the legendary Shangri-La in Malibu—Pearl Jam’s 12th full-length is immediate and direct, a lean-and-mean counterpoint to the more sculpted and experimental feel of 2020’s <i>Gigaton</i>. Credit fresh wind: Born less than a year before the release of the band’s era-defining 1991 debut <i>Ten</i>, Watt came of age with Pearl Jam’s earliest work. He brings a fan’s enthusiasm to the proceedings—he even plays guitar across the record, a dream—but also an outsider’s perspective on what feels authentic to Pearl Jam, no matter the date. That means they lean unabashedly into their strengths and influences: big, broad-shouldered rock (“Scared of Fear”, whose cavernous opening seconds recall those of <i>Ten</i>); Petty-indebted balladry (“Wreckage”); midtempo wizardry (“Won’t Tell”); reliable slabs of classic punk (“Running”; the 10-ton title track). They play the hits by offering new ones, and you can hear the satisfaction they seem to get in clicking here, in the spontaneity of it all. Vedder’s lyrics have never sounded so fluid and free; Matt Cameron’s drum work has never felt so concussive and true. Listen closely to the first chords of “Something Special” and you’ll hear exactly that: a little laughter amongst old friends.
