Wasn’t sure about the title track at first. But after a few spins, I fell in love with it. Same reaction with Wreckage. Even Running, one of the relatively weaker tracks on the album- and a strange choice for a single- has grown on me. Now that the whole album is here, it’s clear that Pearl Jam are still firing on all cylinders. Their first two albums (Ten and Vs) were truly lightning in a bottle, instant classics. Every subsequent album has had some experimental dabbles and some misfires. But they’re still the kings of rewarding multiple listens, and Dark Matter certainly fits that bill. It snuck up on me and won me over, and it’s going to get a lot of play over the coming months.

If your a Pearl Jam fan you’ll be delighted

I'll keep this short and sweet because I already wrote my full review on the explicit version. By track 6 of this album, it already had 3 of the worst songs I've ever heard in my life. It's not a good sign when you're on track 6 of an album and have already heard 3 of the worst songs you've ever heard in your life. By "Upper Hand" which is track 6, I had to stop listening to this album. It is... Beyond terrible. For the record, Pearl Jam was my favorite band for years. But this album, and "Gigaton", their last album in 2020 are legitimately 2 of the worst albums I've ever heard by anyone, ever... And I've heard a lot of albums in my long life.

...since I actually looked forward to a Pearl Jam album. Over the years they kinda waned for me lacking the enthusiam and pure rawness of their early work. The songs I have heard remind me of Vs. which makes me exited to hear the rest when it releases. Not to say other albums were not as good, but they didn't feel like they were setting a standard or tapping the gutteral potential of the band. Just sayin this feels alot more left field and gritty compared to subsequent endeavors from PJ I heard after the 90s. God bless you guys!