Pearl Jam
Lightning Bolt
??1/2
Alternative rock
As Pearl Jam has aged, the classic alternative rock band has seen the release of each of its albums become a less and less anticipated event. The nadir of this trend can be seen in the release of its 10th album Lightning Bolt, as casual listeners have hardly taken notice.
The studio sheen and immense professionalism of Lightning Bolt seem to undercut its subject matter. Any thrills to be gained from the record’s heavy sound seem cheap in light of the sleek and shiny production. Gone is the grit of Pearl Jam’s ’90s releases, replaced by the sound of almost-50-year-old rockers trying to recapture their former glory.
Frontman Eddie Vedder found success in his folksy contributions to the soundtrack to the 2007 film “Into the Wild” as well as 2011’s novelty Ukulele Songs, and that refreshing originality is missed on Lightning Bolt. There are a few tracks that touch on this aesthetic, but each is swallowed up by over-the-top power chords.
Much has been written about Lightning Bolt’s take on themes like death and aging, but instead of sounding mature, the album feels nostalgic, like the band is obsessed with a conception of itself that is long past. In fact, Pearl Jam sounded much more mature when the band received much less critical attention (see 2000’s Binaural and 2002’s Riot Act), as that period’s records at least possessed a crucial element not found on Lightning Bolt: sincerity.
This is not to say that Lightning Bolt is necessarily bad, but rather the album seems dull when compared to the dizzying heights of Pearl Jam’s ’90s heyday. There are a few gems in the lurching “Infallible” and the gentle closer “Future Days,”1 but the album as a whole is simply an uninspired shadow of Pearl Jam’s more classic records. The record has come without much fanfare, and should quickly fade from the public consciousness.
— James Butler
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