May 9

May 9 Pearl Jam - Gigaton

Pearl Jam
Gigaton
Release Date: March 27th, 2020
Label: Monkeywrench/Republic

When you look at it on paper, Pearl Jam are one of the only remaining rock acts that are still standing in modern music after the eruption of grunge music in the early 90s. Be it a band member’s untimely passing or just a general fading into obscurity, most of those acts didn’t make it past the early 90s. But Pearl Jam is still standing today, and 2020 found them releasing their 11th overall studio album, Gigaton. The fifty-seven minutes of music on Gigaton prove why they have been able to stand the test of time in an ever-evolving landscape of popular music that has seen the general decline of newer arena rock acts over the last two decades. Gigaton shows the band at some of their finest moments, while also showcasing an experimental side that sometimes takes them into post-punk territory.

“Who Ever Said”, an exhilarating rock track, opens the album with a band that is perfectly locked in with one another. Vocalist Eddie Vedder sounds fantastic, delivering one of the best vocal performances he’s given in years. About halfway through, the song dips into a calmer territory; drummer Matt Cameron keeps the band locked into the same upbeat tempo, but the guitars get quieter, the atmosphere is different. Slowly, we build back up into the same explosive track that welcomed us just minutes ago.

We progress into “Superblood Wolfmoon”, an upbeat rock track that allows lead guitarist Mike McCready to absolutely shine and make the fretboard wail (there are several moments like this on Gigaton). Things shift, however, with “Dance of The Clairvoyant”, which features the band dabbling with post-punk as Vedder sings over a drumbeat and funk-inspired bass line that makes you want to step foot on the dance floor rather than the mosh pit. The tempo slows down further for “Quick Escape”, but features a soaring chorus and some of the finest dual guitar work on Gigaton from both McCready and guitarist Stone Gossard. While simultaneously allowing for Jeff Ament’s basslines to rip through the track in excellent fashion.

“Alright” finds the band in their most musically tranquil atmosphere, with lyrics from Vedder that provides one of the most introspective moments on Gigaton. “It’s alright to quiet up/To disappear in thin air, it’s your own/Should your living truth die/Could be an acid trip/Leave the Eucharist whole”, Vedder sings calmly over the rhythm that is fitted with accoutrements of light piano and acoustic guitar strums. “Seven O’Clock” marks the album’s halfway point, which finds the band at their most experimental and free-spirited. The song clocks in over six minutes, the longest track on Gigaton, and fittingly so; it’s a magnum opus that shows the band highlighting the political and social justice issues that the band have raised awareness of over the years (“For this is no time for depression or self indulgent hesitance/This fucked-up situation calls for all hands, hands on deck/Freedom is as freedom does and freedom is a verb/They giveth and they taketh and you fight to keep that what you’ve earned”. If you think I’m pulling that statement out of thin air, Vedder makes it pretty clear as he remarks “Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse they forged the North and West/Then you got Sitting Bullshit as our sitting president”. This album was written in 2019 and released in March 2020. It’s pretty clear who we’re talking about.

Both “Never Destination” and “Take The Long Way” pick up the tempo, with the former even echoing moments of The Who and finding the band at one of their best and rock-fueled moments. “Buckle Up” finds guitarists McCready and Gossard letting their fingers dance down the fretboards of their guitars as rhythmic notes phase in and out, adding another layer of sound to the track. It creates a rather trippy effect if you’re listening through the proper headphones.

“Comes Then Goes” finds the band’s sole acoustic track, complete with excellent harmonies, intricate guitar work, and enigmatic lyrics. “Retrograde” continues the usage of acoustic guitars, but bassist Ament and drummer Matt Cameron return to the fold to round out the sound, with Vedder delivering one of the best vocal performances on the record, and one of the best songs on the album. The echoing outro as Vedder’s cheers for the audience to “hear the sound” inspired something in me; Pearl Jam wasn’t even a band I listened to that much growing up, but when I hear “Retrograde”, it reminds me of a different time in my life, where everything was just beginning, when the world felt, well, different.

Gigaton concludes with “River Cross”, a song that features Vedder crooning over a layered organ as the band slowly kicks back in, “Live it out/Let it out/Get it out/Shout it out/Won’t hold us down…Won’t hold us down”. The finale track isn’t as electrifying as some of the higher-energy moments on Gigaton, but the message is reflective of a band that has been on the international stage for so many years: nothing can hold them down. Nothing can hold them back. They’re still here and will continue to put out endearing music forevermore. Time can’t stop them.