By snoadmin
Pearl Jam’s new album features some beautiful, poignant ballads, but most of it rehashes its redundant punk rock songs.
Considering how awesome Pearl Jam’s self-titled album sounded, long-time fans were expecting that the band would bust out all the stops in its new album, “Backspacer.” They probably wanted even more crazy solos from guitarist Mike McCready or epic vocals from singer Eddie Vedder.
Unfortunately, fans will not hear anything especially new or interesting in “Backspacer,” at least not until the second half of the album. In the first four songs, Pearl Jam seemed to slip back into its habit of playing more songs laden with loud guitar chords and obnoxious yelling from Vedder.
The ninth album is not the worst Pearl Jam CD ever made. The band has gone through some much more horrible moments. For instance, the song “Mankind” on its fourth album demonstrated that the other members of the band definitely could not sing for the life of them. Its worst album, “Riot Act,” was filled with some of the most boring sludge ever performed in a grunge rock album.
Yet, McCready hardly plays any solos in this album. The wide appeal of Pearl Jam depends on McCready’s killer lead guitar, but he hardly does anything in this album. Sure, Vedder and the rest of the band sound energetic with loud songs such as “Gonna See My Friend” and “The Fixer” are worth listening to for the sake of enjoying the blasts of noisy guitars. Songs such as “Supersonic” have the kicking energy of a garage band on adrenaline. However, there is hardly any point in caring about the group if its virtuoso soloist resorts to strumming simple chord progressions throughout the entire album.
Vedder has also lost his touch in writing powerful lyrics in his songs. Fans probably expected Vedder to sing something more thrilling than “I’m sick of everything/I’m gonna see my friend/Make it go away.” Considering how incredible Vedder’s previous lyrics were, this album’s lyrics are redundant trash.
Vedder redeems himself somewhat in the second half by showing his emotional side in deep songs reflecting on his past. Songs such as “Amongst the Waves” include beautiful organs, grand garage rock chords and Vedder’s melodic voice. There’s nothing more wonderful than listening to Vedder sing “Riding high amongst the waves/I can feel like I/Have a soul that has been saved.”
Other songs are filled with Vedder’s tired voice singing vague descriptions of skies blanketed with gems and rhinestones in the song “Unthought Known.” Yet, there’s an undeniable sadness in his voice as he wails that there is nothing left.
At the same time, Vedder’s lyrics sound especially embarrassing in “Force of Nature,” a ballad about a man unable to satisfy his wife who is having an affair. In fact, he describes the woman as a “force of nature” with “contraband hiding deep inside her soul.” Despite all the cheery guitar and piano chords, Vedder’s lyrics are depressing and terribly out of character with the tone of the song. There’s nothing more awkward than hearing Vedder singing to lovely guitar chords about this man standing alone, “awaiting for her to come home.”
Although this album is a moving reflection on Vedder’s personal life and a heart-wrenching elegy to friends who died, “Backspacer” is not the best Pearl Jam album ever made. In fact, it’s not even fair to call this album satisfactory, because the lyrics are awful and the overall sound of the album is repetitive and worn out. Overall, this is a boring, generic rock album that demonstrates that Pearl Jam is one step closer to selling out.
The album is only available in Target stores, or as a download from target.com. It can also be found on iTunes.
