Pearl Jam – Dark Matter (LP, Universal)

Dark Matter is Pearl Jam’s twelfth studio album and the band’s first release since the critically acclaimed chart-topper Gigaton (2020). The album is the culmination of a fresh and fast-paced approach from the band and producer Andrew Watt (Rolling Stones, Iggy Pop, Post Malone, Miley Cyrus, etc). At Gigaton, the band developed song concepts in several recording sessions. In total, the album took around three years to complete. For Dark Matter, all band members came to the Shangri-La studios without any pre-written song ideas and without their own instruments. The creativity took place in real time and was a truly collaborative effort. The LP was completed in three weeks. In a recent interview with Classic Rock, Mike McCready said, [Andrew Watt] really kicked our asses, got us focused and playing, song after song. It took a long time to make Gigaton, but this new one didnt take long. Andrew was like: You guys take forever to make records. Lets do this, right now. From the stage of their concert in Austin in the summer of 2023, Eddie Vedder said Weve made a record for next year. What I can tell you is if you like the musicians in this group, youre going to hear them playing at their highest level.