It’s a general rule that an artist grows and evolves as they get on in age. A tenth album almost never sounds like the debut – and this is almost always for the better. I mean, we wouldn’t want our bands stuck in some perpetual stage of angst, would we? Especially not if their members are well into their forties. Pearl Jam is no exception. Lightning Bolt, their most recent album, is definitely an evolution from the oxymoronic grunge anthems of 1991’s Ten.
Sure, you’ve got the punk rockers (“Getaway” and “Mind Your Manners”), the genre-pushers (“Infallible”) and the alternative/classic rock blends (“Lightning Bolt”)—all fantastic songs worth checking out. But, with Lightning Bolt, Pearl Jam delves into something that they hardly touched in any previous records; mortality. Pearl Jam are no strangers to death, but it was almost never the personal inevitability Lightning Bolt makes it out to be. This theme permeates much of the album, and makes up many of the album’s greatest moments—notably the power ballad “Sirens” and the piano-flanked “Future Days.”
Musically, Lightning Bolt covers all of Pearl Jam’s bases. They wear their punk roots on their sleeves for the album’s opening tracks and then completely ditch them in favor of power ballads, No Code -like experimentation, and, erm, ukuleles. But, all of this variety drags on the album, making it a hard album to follow for those not used to Pearl Jam’s on-a-whim genre-switching. It’s too easy to lose sight of some of the album’s great tracks amidst the variety.
In short—it’s a good Pearl Jam album fans will love. But, the variety Lightning Bolt delivers makes it difficult for casual listeners to enjoy. They’ll find great songs individually, but many of the album’s best songs will be lost to the listener or simply forgotten because they’re too busy keeping up with the next curveball. Yet, subsequent listens may help bring these lost tracks to the front, making Lightning Bolt a grower for those who give it time. And it’s well-worth the time.
Rating: B+
