I'm lurking a bit but mostly not checking in as I'm not going to have the chance to listen to it until tonight at the earliest. I could throw it on at work, but I feel like with this much background with the band I want to wait until I can sit down and listen without distraction. Will certainly let you know! Although I'd say I'm a pretty lousy skeptic, considering I like or love 9 out of their 11 albums.

it really baffles me how difficult they make this for more casual listeners. You have to dig to find out it's even an option, and yesah it sure does make a big difference

I really needed 3 listens to appreciate this album. First run through, much of it felt like Eddie & The Earthlings. There's still a bit of that, but the Pearl Jam backbone does reveal itself more a few times through.

Early standouts:
Wreckage
Dark Matter
Upper Hand
Waiting For Stevie (probably my favorite so far)
Setting Sun

Scared of Fear and React, Respond climbing though.

It'll be interesting to see how my opinions change over the next few weeks.

If he does, post “got his ass”

This album almost sounds like a comeback album from an alternate reality where Pearl Jam broke up after Yield. It reminds me of King Animal in the way it captures and expands upon the bands early sound.

Anyone listening to the guys talk about the composition of the songs on their Sirius channel? Here is what I've heard while in the car this morning...not much car time ... please fill in:

Scared of Fear - ?
React/Respond - ?
Wreckage - ?
Dark Matter - ?
Wont Tell - ?
Upper Hand - ?
Waiting for Stevie - Ed riff from back in the day (being generous here)
Running - Jeff riff
Something Special - ?
Got to Give - Ed riff
Setting Sun - Jeff composed the first part/Andrew riff in the second part (ffs)

Damn dad you are really looking to start some shit today

I like this??…I'm very surprised.

Gigaton wasn't bad, just kind of boring. Earthlings sucked, but this, it ain't bad at all.

Upper Hand was was the track that made me log in and opine.

I don't think this is crazy, even while hating the production.

Guys, I really can't iterate how much I love this album, and how baffled I am, shocked, awed. Raz was really into it too, perhaps more than me even, and she didn't like Gigaton at all. I feel giddy about it, like the teenage fan in me has been reawakened, and I feel weirdly validated, having stuck around this stupid PJ message board all these years, and going through all the comments and news about the band, even when I disliked their output. How many of us can honestly say we stuck with a Pearl Jam message board all these years, through all the thick and thin? Doesn't it feel so good? And it is nice seeing so many of you enjoy it as well. I just... don't know what else to say or how to put it right now. I don't feel like me anymore.

I'm honestly surprised.

man, I'm really not. I could see how I might've come off terse with my I'm aware comment, but I meant nothing by it. the other was just trying to be cute.

Spoiler: show

might delete later.

I think you can also buy the Apple Music subscription to get the atmos version. Because I don’t have an amazon music subscription.

Thanks! Boarded! Both versions downloaded and ready to listen all flight long

Can anybody hook me up with the Atmos mix of even one track? I want to play around with it in Logic and just get a sense of how the down-mix to stereo might work.

Well the 10c vinyl will (probably) arrive on Tuesday.
Bummer, but I honestly wasn't expecting they'd email links for lossless WAV & FLAC.
That's pretty cool.

OK, maybe too soon for this. But at some point, we should talk about how much creative input Watt had, and what to do with that. I suppose if he just brought the riff in part 2 of Setting Sun, it could be argued that he was just pulling the best out of them. There are so many other amazing things happening there (things that Watt couldn't pull out of the Foos etc because they don't have it in them), and they are all pj ... though wouldn't have been there without the riff.

Is the interview recorded somewhere?

dunno if anyone posted this, but here's Ed talking to KROQ (pronounced "Crock") about the album, posted to youtube 21 hours ago