S/T feels like a transition between the two periods - more direct, straight-forward rockers but there's still an element of weirdness to it.

cold confession and again today would be up there, but Id consider again today in the gigaton era since it came out while they were working on the record

S/T is a direct response to Riot Act - musically and thematically. those two albums are inextricably linked to me

1. Infallible
2. Marker in the Sand
3. Unemployable
4. Yellow Moon
5. Severed Hand
6. Big Wave
7. Amongst the Waves
8. Pendulum
9. Just Breathe
10. Ole

did it really? seems like it's been out for a decade.

swap in unemployable I guess

Wasn't cold confession from the ST sessions?

yes

Nice...i love Army Reserve. And happy to find a fellow Force of Nature fan...that song seems to get ragged on alot around here but i think its fantastic.

Also overlooked Cold Confession...that's in the top 5 mix as well for me during this era.

I almost feel like S/T is on an island of its own.

But certainly in terms of quality i think its closer to the previous group than the latter.

For me, I think Binaural and Riot Act have a lot on common. S/T for me is in the same thematic line with Yield and Gigaton. All three also feel like a reaction to the prior record, a sort of cleansing of the palate, even if No Code and Riot Act are great records.

I agree that S/T is its own thing. Although I do think it's the clear transition from "old Pearl Jam" to "latter-day Pearl Jam."

When LB came out, I thought it was a lot better than BS. I'm a bit surprised that lately when I make a mix of the two albums it's more BS than LB.

I felt the same way at first, but once the initial set of listens (admittedly longer than I would give to any other band) wore off Backspacer pulled slightly ahead.

That was my initial read as well. Then as both albums settled in i slightly preferred BS. Then after not listening to either all the way thru for a few years i listened to both back to back just before Gigaton came out and i GREATLY preferred BS.

Both are still bottom two albums for me, but i have BS a decent notch above LB for sure at this point.

Listening to this turd right now and this should be remixed by Evans. Even Pendulum sounded weak as fuck to me after these years. Those drums should be pounding on that song. There’s a few good songs here, but even they are a lost cause due to Brenden Frazier O’Brien.

I’ve never noticed a more vanilla production. Wtf.

I sat through Backspacer when the anniversary hit. That album sounded better to me than it ever has. It has something to do with passing on these albums time and time again when I need to scratch the PJ itch. It’s fun. And The End is still beautiful and just destroys me now.

Listened to this today (not realising until now that it was released 8 years ago). I've come around to it a lot more even if it's minor Pearl Jam.

They should've just titled this one PJ20.

So much of what I hate about BoB is the goddamn saccharine piano he adds to everything. My dad's a pianist, and I love piano. I even fall for the BoB stuff emotionally, but it's *not* Pearl Jam.

Lol

ive been listening to mind your manner -> sirens -> lightning bolt on my morning walk the last few days. Good times