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Pearl Jam
Binaural
Epic
They’ve been grunge, indie, lo-fi, experimental and commercial – now, they’re The Who. America’s most popular unpopular band continues to deconstruct rock n’ roll, and rebuild in its own collective image. Good for them. Binaural is a warm, earthy, cohesive, and unabashedly classic-sounding release, fuzz-toned and jammy. While every record after the crackling Vitalogy – arguably their best, from front to back – shares its high points with muddled near-misses and half-baked concepts, each song here is solidly built. If No Code and Yield showcased a band uncertain in their search for self-gratification, Binaural finds them with renewed confidence. Pearl Jam make music for themselves first, and if anyone out there is still pining away for a return to Ten’s slick angst, the distorted, live-ass opening salvo of ‘Breakerfall’ should more than assure them that’s not going to happen. ‘god’s dice’ continues the leading cut’s upbeat drive, before the chorus of the wonderfully dated ‘Evacuation’, tops everything out with its urgent downbeat. ‘Light Years’ expertly welds emotion to the hook, and comes as close to mainstream accessibility as Binaural gets. The plaintive, minor-key ‘Nothing as it Seems’ plods a bit, but features some expressive guitar work, as does the vaguely countrified ‘Thin Air’, though these two tracks comprise the record’s least engaging moments. ‘Insignificance’, the best track here, follows with a compelling groove, inventive, snarly guitars and a breakout bridge. ‘Of the Girl’ builds forever. ‘Grievance’ explodes. ‘Rival’ swings moodily to great effect. ‘Sleight of Hand’ nearly falls short, only to be redeemed by Binaural’s biggest, grabbiest chorus. Okay, so the ukelele-and-Vedder ‘Soon Forget’ sucks (remember ‘Bugs’?), but ‘Parting Ways’ ends things on a pleasantly dreamy note. All in all, Binaural’s vibe is largely loose and celebratory, and it’s Pearl Jam’s most consistently well-written effort in years. The band is obviously more comfortable than ever simply reacting to one another, and seeing where their shared expression takes them. Recommended.
Scott Harrell
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