Pearl Jam
‘PEARL JAM’
RATING: 3 SOUND LEVELS
In the four years since Pearl Jam’s last studio effort, tastes and formats have evolved. The essence of the band–hard rock touched by punk, dour “power ballads” and Eddie Vedder’s humorless bellow–seems especially mild in light of more useful sounds from the Arctic Monkeys or intense, edge-of-darkness acts like Avenged Sevenfold. The band’s eighth album has moments, to be sure. The driving, full-on opener, “Life Wasted,” bares all that’s still great about the band–solid rhythm, charging beat, memorable melody and one of Vedder’s best-ever performances. Further standouts are “World Wide Suicide” and “Comatose.” Elsewhere, a sameness sometimes prevails. But what’s great about PJ are the great parts of “Pearl Jam.” It’s not the pits, but there’s half an avocado on the cover.
