The problem with DM is that it's too easily digestible. Like, if I wanted to turn a Foo Fighters fan onto Pearl Jam, I would show them this album.

Happy 1 year anniversary to a great record!

I'll take "easily digestible" in these future days over "tried to be interesting but failed miserably"

I reeeeeally like this record.

But also

It’s kind of what I’d expect an AI of the superfuture to produce, if the prompt was “create a Pearl Jam record.”

How can both be true and what does it mean?

it is essentialist pearl jam. The core DNA. so at once true to who they are and the seed bed for what you would reproduce if you wanted to sound like them

What I liked best about it was the band was visibly proud and excited to play the songs live.

How is that different from any "new" album?

Depends on your definition of “core DNA.” By my definition, this is an entirely inessential, and wholly derivative, Pearl Jam album. It’s Lightning Bolt with better songs but worse production.

Lightning Bolt isn't essential PJ "core DNA" if that helps

Oh I know

I never got that sense at any Backspacer or Lightning Bolt shows. They’d obligatorily trot out a few songs from those albums, and it was mainly the same handful.

I saw 9 shows between Backspacer and Lightning Bolt and never saw Gonna See My Friend, Force of Nature, or Speed of Sound. That’s 1/4 of the album. To this day, I’ve seen Johnny Guitar, Supersonic, and The End each just once.

I saw 16 shows between the release of Lightning Bolt and Gigaton and I never My Father’s Son, LTRP, Swallowed Whole, or Yellow Moon once. That’s a third of the album. Getaway and Infallible I saw just once each during that time and never since.

I only saw 4 shows between Gigaton and Dark Matter. Haven’t seen a third of that one either, but the circumstances are obviously way different.

Meanwhile, they played 9 of 11 songs on Dark Matter the first show I saw. In 3 shows, I saw the whole album and 8 of the songs at least twice. It’s completely different, and it feels different at the shows. They’re confident in those songs next to the setlist regulars in their catalog.

I loathe this album yet I agree — they did seem to relish in exploring these songs live noticeably more than the last couple albums.

this album's greatness is inversely proportional to Trag's loathing of it.

yeah, totally.

Gigaton was hurt with the pandemic and thats a shame, but they totally dived into DM live last year. And it was fucking glorious too, wish i could have seen them last year!

Hopefully that will change soon.

Spot on.

At least the band wrote their own songs on Lightning Bolt.

I thought you loathed the production but generally thought the songs were solid. Granted, it's been a year.

My appreciation there has really cooled. I’d be glad to get Scared of Fear, React/Respond, or Something Special in a set. But there’s nothing on the album I’d consider an all-timer.

When are we going to be Trag free in this thread?

Trag is totally right, there is a reason why they bring watt in and it’s not for his recording skills.
Exhibit b: The Rolling Stones
Exhibit c: Ozzy

U2 is next (at some point)

the production on the record is loud, even overwhelming, but I think it still works for the majority of songs (wont tell and wreckage are probably the least well served by it) which try to capture the feeling of holding onto something of value in a world that keeps trying to take it from you.

But i think it is better than ST or Lightning Bolt. The former is so harsh all the songs after the first three loose their warmth and depth, and LBolt is anisceptic and strips the character of what is an underrated set of songs.