There were no clues as to how this was going sound. Pearl Jam have only released one new song since 2009's 'Backspacer' album. That's not to say there hasn't been a sheer plethora of releases connected to the band; a wave of reissues, solo albums, plentiful side-bands, and they have crested a ride of huge shows around the globe. Rumours had abounded that a new album was on the horizon, then a week or so ago a countdown clock appeared on the band's website. This delivered us an American autumn tour, then a second countdown began. It zeroed yesterday at 8pm GMT. And we were given the name of the new album, 'Lightning Bolt' and its first single 'Mind Your Manners'.
Pearl Jam have a recent history of lead singles being short, sharp and to the point ('The Fixer', 'World Wide Suicide') and 'Mind Your Manners' is no different in this. It kicks into view on guttural, dirty guitars and Vedder spitting out the lyrics as the song pounds with a primal intensity. This isn't new territory for Pearl jam, and the song has echoes of the past, most notably 'Spin The Black Circle', but whereas Spin…' was a vehement rhetoric wrapped in punked rage, 'Mind Your Manners' is minted from the same fire, but this time it is punched through with a shot of skyscraping melodic colour that is utterly irresistible. It tempers the underlying rawness to give something anyone can dance to. It has touches of McCready's beloved Social Distortion and punk icons Bad Religion. The lyrics appear to be a diatribe to freedom and individualism, with the perils of them being brought down in the modern age. We are told that "round the corner, it could be bigger than ourselves", giving a hopeful quality within that melodic shot in the arm. 'Mind Your Manners' belies the band's increasing age, and they play as if a fire has been re-lit under them. This isn't a band wallowing in their legacy, instead they have given us a vital, vibrant bolt of sound that rocks like a bastard.
Pearl Jam's website
Buy the single
Catch them live:
10.11 Pittsburgh, Consol Energy Center
10.12 Buffalo, NY, First Niagra Center
10.15 Worcester, MA, DCU Center
10.18 Brooklyn, NY, Barclays Center
10.19 Brooklyn, NY, Barclays Center
10.21 Philadelphia, PA, Wells Fargo Arena
10.22 Philadelphia, PA, Wells Fargo Arena
10.25 Hartford, CT, XL Center
10.27 Baltimore, MD, 1rst Mariner Arena
10.29 Charlottesville, VA, John Paul Jones Arena
10.30 Charlotte, NC, Time Warner Cable Arena
11.01 New Orleans Voodoo Festival, 11/1-11/3 Pearl Jam Perf Date TBD
11.15 Dallas, TX, American Airlines Center
11.16 Oklahoma City, OK, Chesapeake Energy Arena
11.19 Phoenix, AZ, Jobing.com Arena
11.21 San Diego, CA, Viejas Arena
11.23 Los Angeles, CA, Sports Arena
11.24 Los Angeles, CA, Sports Arena
11.26 Oakland, CA, Oracle Arena
11.29 Portland, OR, Rose Garden Arena
11.30 Spokane, WA, Spokane Arena
12.02 Calgary, ALB, Scotiabank Saddledome
12.04 Vancouver, BC, Rogers Arena
12.06 Seattle, WA, Key Arena
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