come back.

pearl jam: s/t.

bless the sweethearts over at the ten club, for sending my copy of pearl jam’s new album a few days early and rewarding me for pre-ordering with a free bootleg cd of a nyc new years eve show from 1992!

you know, we’re all friends here, so i can confess to you that after tolerating riot act, i had pretty low expectations for the self-titled eighth studio album (ninth, if you count lost dogs). still, they’re my favorite band, and as soon as the cd arrived in the mailbox i immediately cancelled my plans for an afternoon nap and rushed into bed for an uninterrupted listen.

let me just get a few less important things out of the way: firstly, the album art is weird (including darkly gruesome shots of the band members surrounded by dirt, bugs, and severed heads). and i fear that the stark avacodo cover art (which is so ridiculous it had many fans convinced that the anti-climactic unveiling was part of some lame april fool's joke ) could cost this album the classic rock status it deserves. secondly, releasing a self-titled album is lazy and bland, no matter what kind of statement you're hoping to make by doing it so late in your career.

having said that, this album rocks. no, it really rocks, in a straight up, no nonsense sort of way. look, if you’re waiting for another album like ten, then you're stupid. if ten came out today, you would hate it. the timing was such a crucial part of what made that album the relic that it has become. similarly, pearl jam is relevant to today’s music and i sincerely hope that with the current resurgence of rock n’ roll, this album will get all of the attention and appreciation it deserves.

so, if you stopped listening after "last kiss," you might want to get back in touch with the band who brought you four hit songs with their debut release so many angst-ridden years ago. pearl jam is full of memorable rockers like "worldwide suicide"(the first single), "life wasted," and "comatose." and the slower songs ("parachutes," "inside job") are nothing to fall asleep to. the bluesy lovesick ballad, "come back," will make you tip your fedora forward and nod with solemn approval.

the album is catchy like the stones, ballsy like the who, and even squeezes beatles-sweet sentiments inbetween. as a whole, it proves what i have known for ten plus years; pearl jam will not go down in history as another washed up band hailing from seattle. they will continue to evolve, (regardless of how many fans they alienate along the way) until they find themselves standing humbly alongside the very same rock heroes who have inspired them.