Dark Matter. I thought uh oh we are getting lightning bolt part 2. I have faith in Andrew watt and his mixing abilitie. for a quick starter 4 out of 5 instruments (including Eddie as an instrument) sound so perfect. For the basic review I think the album is their best effort in quite some time, I barely revisit songs on the last 2 albums every album before I at least find myself kicking it to a few if not all tracks. This album fits that quota my rating 7.7/10 . That being said the one instrument I wish had more "natural" uncompressed settings? The drums. That being said Matt Cameron absolutely kills the drums on this record but it sounds too clean. Him and Mike certainly carry the record easily could have been a 8.6/10 with that slight tweak.

Thank you. And play this record loud.

This may be their last album

I’ve listened to it a couple different ways. First thing that is obvious is shut that Dolby Atmos shit right off. You don’t have the system to handle it. No…you really don’t… Second, go buy the standard CD, don’t try to stream or download it. Then all you need to do is find a 16year old Audi Q7 with the factory Bose system. Don’t worry, it comes with a CD player. Plop that CD in. Go to sound settings. Select DSP Bose->surround rear->adjust surround setting to 2 clicks from the highest (yes there is a surround adjustment “dial”)->turn base down a smidge-> turn that sumbitch up. You will hear things you had no clue were there, no lie. There are so many friggin layers to this record it’s insane, I’m talking songs within a song. Background guitar work that is literally a completely different melody. It’s pretty wild. Check it out then plop back on this sub and spread the word. You can thank me later!

Enjoying the new album but, in my humble opinion, the mix/mastering is ass.

My question is aimed at those who have picked up the vinyl. Is the vinyl more dynamic?

Is Upper Hand anyone else’s favorite so far? I’ve only given the album one listen, but I’m planning to get into a thorough run through asap. (also, the outro solo in react respond?? damn!)

Here’s where I got my albums.

Ten - Hand me down.

Vs. - Spec's Music

Vitalogy - Blockbuster Music

No Code - Best Buy

Yield - Best Buy

Binaural - Best Buy

Riot Act - Best Buy

Pearl Jam🥑 - Best Buy

Backspacer - Target

Lightning Bolt - Best Buy

Gigaton - Ten Club

Dark Matter - Ten Club

Hidden track: (Dark Matter is the first album I ever bought on vinyl. I plan to buy the cd but I don’t know from where yet.)

Just spent a little time on the site looking for past digital downloads/ purchases. Cant seem to find them. Anyone know where they are at (or even if they are still available)?

very excited to catch some of the new songs live! any advice? I've been to a couple of big shows before, but it's been a few years. what time should I be there? does anyone know if there will be an opener?

I see a lot of people saying 5, 6, 7 is such a good 3 song stretch.

Maybe Won’t Tell will grow on me, because the verses are awesome!

The chorus in general is just way too pop and airy. The verses are full of sexy, dark imagery, then it goes off into a fucking Disney chorus. I can’t be the only one.

When Ed sings the part of the chorus “Can heal, can you feel?” It Just sounds so corny, like a melody from a teen pop song… Does anyone else agree with me?

Pearl Jam is my favorite band and still is even after this album. The album is phenomenal so don’t put my head on a stick.

I. Fucking. LOVE. This. Album.

First listen but this seems like a real return to what made me fall in love with this band.

Can’t wait to hear some of the suckers live.

THANK YOU BOYS!!!

SO happy with this new album, so many tracks I can't wait to see live, but there are a few "skip-able" tracks. That said, lets all admit that "Something Special" is bad.

How bad is it? It's the worst song since...?

Somebody posted that a few days ago and it was hilarious. Want to watch it again!

Do me a favor. Play any track off of Yield then play this album. It’s shocking that the band would approve this mix.

There is only 1 volume. Zero space.

Unlistenable. Especially unfortunate because it has a few great songs. #darkmatter #mix #andrewwatt #wtf

Looking forward to hearing what they have to say about each track. Edited to add you can start a free 3 month trial for SiriusXM. * I started with listening to Mike's commentary first- awesome so far to hear his little anecdotes about each track.

https://www.siriusxm.com/blog/pearl-jam-dark-matter

I know there's been a lot of content on the new album (which is GREAT btw), but "Wreckage" really touched me the most, I just had to write something about it. And so I wrote something and sent to my fellow Pearl Jam friend and he suggested I post this here as he liked it. It's just my interpretation, yours may vary.

This song hit me really deeply, and I just had to share my thoughts on it. After listening to it with the lyrics, it felt like sifting through the emotional leftovers after a storm — both moving and kind of intense.

From the start, the song portrays a scene filled with dark, stormy skies and overflowing rivers, which to me feels a lot like those overwhelming days, where the past just won’t let you be. Eddie Vedder’s lyrics paint this vivid picture of trying to find a bit of sunshine beyond all that rain, like we're all looking for that little glimmer of light; at least I am, all the time.
My favorite lines in the song, probably ever, is

The mistakes we all make and perfectly repeat,
Chains are made by DNA refusing, refusing to release.

I interpret that as saying we’re sometimes stuck with the cards we’re dealt, our ingrained habits, traits, and even the cycles of ups and downs. These are the things we can't easily shake off because they’re kind of wired into us.

The chorus is especially resonating, where he sings about combing through the wreckage, searching through what’s left behind. It's like digging through the remnants of memories and what-ifs, trying to piece together what went wrong or what could've been different.

But you're now like the water, and the water will find its way

Finally, towards the end, the song dives into this vibe of acceptance, like coming to terms with the fact that things flow like water and we can’t always control where they go. It's about letting go, even if it hurts, and realizing that life keeps moving.

This theme of accepting life’s messy, unpredictable nature, and the idea of just holding on, that repeats through the end of the song provides me with such catharsis.

Did this song particularly affect anyone similarly?

That’s what the live version will be. I sense he’s going to let it rip on that one.

Holy shit. These lyrics.

So my daughter and i have watched the last episode of Bluey about 75 times already. The two of us still get, uhm, emotional, even after the 75th viewing. When i sing it to myself, i find myself trailing off into River Cross. Anyone else notice this amazing resemblance/feeling?

Is anyone else getting a Killers vibe from this?

By far my favorite track on Dark Matter. This song is going to be awesome live. I can see it being played mid-set, too cool off after a couple of fast and harder songs.

It’s Yellow Ledbetter guitar licks meeting Temple of the Dog. Fucking amazing track.

Happy listening all!

Is the swearing! I'm pretty sure Eddie would switch up lyrics at shows in the early 2010s to avoid swearing when his young daughters were in attendance. For example, "get out of my lucky face" in Leash. Now he writes this beautiful song that I'd love to share with my 5 and 3 year old but I'm hesitant.

I mean there are 4 Explicit songs on DM and Something Special is one of them! Grrr. More funny to me than anything else, love the song!

(Please release a clean version)

What a group of musicians. It gets better with every play