Pearl Jam Create Raw, Blistered Rock and moody Balladry

With rock veterans Pearl Jam, the term “back-to-basics” is meaningless. Working from punk and classic rock templates, all they ever had were basics. The band made a determined effort from their inception to see how much creativity they could wring out of a couple of guitars, bass, and drums. So to ascribe the critical and commercial buzz surrounding their eighth studio album to a “back-to-basics” ethos on behalf of the band is pure radio-speak nonsense.

The band never forayed into collaborations with the London Symphony Orchestra or gospel choirs. Even pianos are few and far between in the Pearl Jam canon. Instead of delving into superficial experimentalism, the group grew sideways. Since the general public stopped paying close attention around 1995, the band have been slowly perfecting everything it already did well, digging deeper into its roots and paying better attention to melody and songcraft.