Pearl Jam: Backspacer Review

There is much talk going around in the music world concerning Backspacer; namely that it's the band's best release since Yield in 1998. Guess what? They're right. Backspacer is a cohesive piece of art that reminds us just how far Pearl Jam has come along since their explosion onto the music scene with Ten in 1991. Many listeners didn't think too highly of the albums in between Yield and Backspacer (Binaural, Riot Act, Pearl Jam), but you are reading the review of someone that did think highly of those releases: Riot Act in particular. So, it's with a bit of reluctance that I award Backspacer with the statement "best since Yield." But anyway, "so what's it like?" said the impatient reader.

Backspacer is quick and to the point, clocking in at just under 37 minutes in total length. The songwriting is as good as Pearl Jam has been. Ever. Combine that with the fact that Vedder and the band are out of their "we hate George Bush doldrums" and are back to just doing what they do best: music. The songs are short, catchy, and mainly uplifting: musically or otherwise. The first single; "The Fixer" is the catchiest Pearl Jam song in years (not to mention one of the best). "Just Breathe" and "The End" feel like extensions of Eddie Vedder's Into the Wild soundtrack: contemplative, simple, beautifully crafted ballads with mainly just an acoustic guitar and Vedder's stellar, though aging, vocals.

Don't let that last statement mislead you, Vedder is still a masterful vocalist. For years it has been apparent in live settings that he couldn't quite hit all those notes with such conviction that he once could: "Spin the Black Circle," State of Love and Trust," "Masters of War," etc. This is the first album when that limitation has been apparent in studio recording. However, the lesser strength of his vocals is balanced out by the undeniable fact of just how much better of a singer he is. Each melody feels handcrafted down to the most minute detail; and when Vedder sings them, it feels as if his way was the only way the melody could have been done. It's that good.

With Pearl Jam approaching their 20 year mark quickly; it would seem increasingly difficult to release music that has any kind of fresh sound to it. Backspacer has just that. It doesn't have new instruments, or a new producer, or new structures. It just has a new approach, a new perspective. A perspective that has seemingly been missing coincidentally since around Yield: Hope. We as fans can only extend that hope; hoping that it leads Pearl Jam to create additonal records as good as this one.

Reviewer's Score 9/10