Album Review: Pearl Jam – Gigaton

Pearl Jam – Gigaton
(Republic Records)

Reviewed by Bridget Herlihy.

In recent days a number of artists have chosen to delay the release of new material in the face of the global COVID-19 crisis. Yet it is refreshing to see that Pearl Jam have once again chosen to follow their own path by going ahead and dropping their highly anticipated new album, Gigaton, as planned. This is the Seattle six-piece’s eleventh studio album, coming more than six years after the band’s last full length offering Lightning Bolt – a lengthy hiatus by Pearl Jam standards. Undoubtedly, this will leave die-hard fans wondering if this was indicative of the band heading in a slightly new direction. In a nutshell, the answer is both yes and no.

Many moons ago, the unwelcome ‘grunge’ umbrella that Pearl Jam had unwittingly fallen under, slowly but surely crumbled away. In fact, the release of the band’s last album saw guitarist Mike McCready refer to his band as ‘Dad Rock’, indicating a softening of the sound that had defined them for over two decades. And in many ways Gigaton does not stray far from that formula. In fact, if you listen closely you can detect remnants of the Pearl Jam of yesteryear.

Yet that is not to say that Gigaton doesn’t at times stray into new territory. First single ‘Dance of the Clairvoyants’ is evidence of this – and is hands-down one of the album’s highlights. With Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament switching instruments, Gossard’s heavy bass is the driving force of this vibrant pseudo electro/funk inspired track. Opening track ‘ Who Ever Said’ has a subtle sense of urgency to it, while is offering a glimpse of what is to come. Second single ‘Superblood Wolfmoon’ is arguably the most rock-inspired track on the album, and while ‘Quick Escape’ sees McCready in his element, laying down some enticing riffs, but sadly they come and go too quickly. ‘Take The Long Way’ is reminiscent of ‘Spin The Black Circle’, albeit a significantly paired-back version. Yet is must be noted that Gigaton is not entirely a guitar-driven album.

It could be said that this is an album of two parts; where the latter part of the album sees moments of edginess give way to a mellower mood with the acoustic ‘Comes Then Goes’ and the somewhat sombre ‘Retrograde’. Ending with the slightly melancholy yet uplifting ‘River Cross’, Vedder sings that in spite the current government and the danger of future disappearing, it “won’t hold us down”. Perhaps most interestingly, this is a track sans guitars; rather, Matt Cameron’s drums and Boon Gasper’s synths provide the only accompaniment to Vedder’s vocals. Given that this album is essentially a musical commentary of the current political and social climate in the USA, the mood is fitting. Yet lyrically this is not an album of doom and gloom, but rather one of hope and redemption.

Pearl Jam are not ready to be relegated to the domain of ‘legacy acts’, and while Gigaton may take a few listens to ‘gel’ and truly get your head around, it is undoubtedly a quintessential Pearl Jam album.

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