Pearl Jam - Dark Matter

Dark Matter arrives relatively quickly on the heels of Gigaton, an urgent warning call coincidentally delivered at the dawn of the COVID-19 pandemic. Teeming with apoplectic energy, Gigaton activated Pearl Jam's collective muscle memory, tapping into the messianic fervor that ran through the band's earliest records. Dark Matter doesn't traffic in that sense of righteousness, choosing instead to concentrate on replicating the sound and form of their '90s heyday. The conduit for this conversion is Andrew Watt, a producer who wasn't yet a year old when Pearl Jam released Ten, who nevertheless cultivated a reputation as a classic rock rejuvenator partially due to records like Earthling, Eddie Vedder's bright and colorful solo record from 2022. After Earthling, Watt managed to shepherd records by Ozzy Osbourne, Iggy Pop, and the Rolling Stones that felt like their iconic work while also still sounding fresh. He repeats that trick on Dark Matter, crafting a record that hints at the heights o