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Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam Recently, a lot of bands have tried, in vain, to return to the sound they had many winters ago (when they were as hungry for success as they were for dinner), in a desperate attempt to regain long-lost fans and become relevant again. In some sad cases, these bands have attempted to tout every upcoming album as a return to their roots… Or, even worse, they have recycled the title of their most known work and added a very, very, VERY pathetic “Pt. II” to it – even if it doesn’t sound at all like the original!

Not Pearl Jam, fortunately – if what you want is to listen to Ten, go and get the 2009 deluxe re-issue; there’s no need for the band to try and replicate it. Backspacer is the work of a band comfortable with where they are at. A straightforward rock album that is as simple as it is inspired. Long gone are the grandeur pretensions of 1996’s No Code or the experimental urges of 2002’s Riot Act. It seems like, with Backspacer, Pearl Jam had one, and only one goal in mind: to write good songs. And, alas, that’s exactly what they did!

The album is not only filler-free, but also one of the band’s most cohesive outputs – both in style and delivery. Concert-ready rockers like “Johnny Guitar”, “Supersonic”, “Gonna See My Friend”, “Got Some” and the addictive first single, “The Fixer”, showcase Pearl Jam at the top of their game – the always-functional rhythm section of drummer Matt Cameron and bassist Jeff Ament; the concise and enthused riff interchanges of guitarists Stone Gossard and Mike McCready; and Eddie Vedder’s vibrant vocal lines. Pearl Jam stay away from the fallacies of studio overproduction and greatly benefit from the imperfections of a live and organic sound.

Backspacer has its fair share of ballads, but never loses momentum. It also helps that “Just Breathe”, “Unthought Known” and “The End” are some of Vedder’s most heartfelt tunes. Backspacer evidences a band that no longer needs to shoot for the stars. They’ve been to the moon and back many times. And, right now, they’re precisely where they need to be!

Hernán Alcérreca

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