Album Review: Pearl Jam - 'Dark Matter'

Pearl Jam’s new album closes with the refrain “let us not fade”. Twelve albums and three decades in, Dark Matter proves the Seattle five-piece have done anything but fade out or away. 

Dark Matter enters a different world than its predecessor, 2020’s Gigaton. 

Gigaton will be inherently tied to Covid for me; the album came out three days before we went into our first Melbourne lockdown; I wrote its review in the very early stages of working from home, having left The Music Melbourne office for good just as our final print edition hit the streets. 

Because of that, the album is marred for me; I don’t listen to it and think of going to shows and being with my friends and family like with previous releases - I listen to Gigaton and think of our worsening climate emergency (a major theme across the album), how we’d wake up every morning to news about events being cancelled, the weird and permanent impact Donald Trump’s Presidency had made on us even here in Australia, and an overbearing feeling of hopelessness and confusion around being in lockdown for some 262 days. 

The album itself was heavy; beautiful, but heavy. In contrast, Dark Matter finds hope. 

Everything in the lead up to Dark Matter’s release has described it as their heaviest or hardest rocking album, upon listening that’s not what immediately strikes me. There are certainly elements throughout – particularly in tracks like React, Respond, Scared Of Fear, and Running – but I think it’s the quieter moments where this album finds its most strength. It’s awash with light; contemplative and highlights songwriter Eddie Vedder’s continued need to delve within. 

There’s something earnest at the core of a lot of the songs on Dark Matter: Won’t Tell (“I’d open the door, shed all my skin / allow for a bit of grace / for in my dream you told / me to let the longing go / and the promise I still hold / won’t tell a soul”), Wreckage (a track that could sit amongst the great Tom Petty’s catalogue) and Setting Sun (it wouldn’t be out of place on Vedder’s 2007 Into The Wild soundtrack). 

There’s also no dismissing producer Andrew Watt’s part in his album and the band’s recent evolution. Working together since Gigaton, Watt is a breath of fresh air in the Pearl Jam legacy. His wide-ranging experience working with the metal-est of metal and the pop-est of pop artists brings something new to the group, and it’s a gamble that has paid off for them. 

Recording at Rick Rubin’s revered Shangri-La Studios in Malibu over a three-week period last year, Dark Matter feels cohesive, surely the direct result of the band recording all together in the same room.  

“I’m getting chills because I have good memories,” said Vedder at a recent launch event. 

“We’re still looking for ways to communicate. We’re at this time in our lives when you could do it, or you could not do it, but we still care about putting something out there that is meaningful, and we hopefully think is our best work. No hyperbole; I think this is our best work.”

“What Ed said about getting us in a room at this point, we felt like we were about to make a really important record,” added bass player Jeff Ament. 

“A lot of that had to do with the atmosphere Andrew set up. He has [an] encyclopaedic knowledge of our history, not only as a band and how we wrote songs but as players. He could pinpoint things we did on old songs to the point where I was like, ‘What the fuck is he talking about?’ His excitement was contagious. He’s a force. I just want to say thanks for keeping us on track.”

It's an interesting idea, too; there are points in Dark Matter that are reminiscent of early albums like the heavier, darker Riot Act and Vitalogy, the buoyant The Fixer from 2009’s Backspacer, and the intensity of Vs.’ Rearviewmirror, even the left-of-field Gremmie Outta Control cover from the 2003 B-side compilation album Lost Dogs – it reads that Watt’s deep knowledge and understanding of the band has been able to dust off the back catalogue and repurpose elements to create something new but shrouded in heartening familiarity. 

The band’s release strategy has been different this time, too; there’s been a greater focus on sharing the album early at pre-release events like listening parties and cinema events. Gigaton felt surrounded by secrecy ahead of its release, Dark Matter feels like they can’t wait for us to have it.  

My parents went to one of the album cinema events this week (the album was played through twice - once in total darkness, once with lyrics accompanying - at cinemas across the country on Tuesday night) and made the point that it feels like there a lot of future classic PJ live tracks on this album.

It’s also been interesting to see discussions in fan forums about what tracks are connecting from these events. Everyone is taking something different from it, and already, there’s no one unified favourite, which I think is a reflection of the album connecting as a whole.  

I say all of this not without criticism. This past year has tested me as a fan. Ten years on from their last Australian tour and six since I’ve last seen them play live, I’ve wondered what this album would be if it could and would be enough for me to continue to be a card-carrying, fee-paying member of the band’s fan club. Is legacy alone enough to keep fans loyal? 

Gratefully, with this album, I feel like I don’t need to make that call – I feel reconnected and hopeful about what’s to come; for me, this album finds something I didn’t realise I’d was lost.

And I think the future is looking different for them. For a long time, the Pearl Jam machine felt reliable—album, global tour for three years, album, global tour for three years—but it feels changed now, and the band is being clear about that, too. In the past week, they’ve spoken about the need to condense their three-hour-long shows to a shorter offering each night, a move that focuses on the long game and ensures their ability to tour long into the future.

The future of Pearl Jam feels positive. This album ushers in a new era; things are different, and they seem like a different band to the one that made Gigaton, even with just four years between takes. 

It’s called Dark Matter, but honestly, I think this is the lightest and brightest thing they’ve made in years. There feels like there’s hope behind this album that we haven’t felt from them in a long time—if maybe ever before. 

Dark Matter will be released tomorrow via Republic/Monkeywrench Records. You can pre-order or pre-save the album here.