Lightning Bolt reviews

[Tremoskito]

Idem, d'autant plus que comme au moment des avocado outtakes, je ne suis pas chez moi, sans PC, suis donc condamné à lire tout ça sans pouvoir downloader ... Et finalement je préfère attendre encore un peu

[Julien]

Idem, d'autant plus que comme au moment des avocado outtakes, je ne suis pas chez moi, sans PC, suis donc condamné à lire tout ça sans pouvoir downloader ... Et finalement je préfère attendre encore un peu

Je reviens d'un long w-e, je lis tous vos commentaires, je peux télécharger, je peux écouter mais j'ai juste pas envie
Ce sera pour la sortie de l'album...

[axelbono73]

Idem, d'autant plus que comme au moment des avocado outtakes, je ne suis pas chez moi, sans PC, suis donc condamné à lire tout ça sans pouvoir downloader ... Et finalement je préfère attendre encore un peu

Je reviens d'un long w-e, je lis tous vos commentaires, je peux télécharger, je peux écouter mais j'ai juste pas envie
Ce sera pour la sortie de l'album...

[XWayne]

http://www.clashmusic.com/features/albu ... tning-bolt

Pearl Jam represent one of the most consistent and successful rock bands active today – and a first listen to ‘Lightning Bolt’, the Seattle quintet’s new album, further confirms this status. Still standing, never once bowing to the dreaded ‘hiatus’, the Eddie Vedder-fronted outfit is in as rude health today as it was back in the ‘90s.

The reasoning behind the band’s longevity is based in qualitative terms, surely. But it’s probable that Pearl Jam’s members have always sought to satisfy their own musical cravings, following instincts over any fleeting trends. Across the course of the band’s career, kick-started with 1991’s ‘Ten’ LP, they’ve regularly integrated new sounds into their grunge foundations, such as softer, folk-like styles akin to the work of Neil Young.

Each shade of the band’s varied palette has had its time in the spotlight. ‘Thumbing My Way’, from 2002’s ‘Riot Act’, telegraphs Vedder’s subsequent ‘Into The Wild’ soundtrack work. Likewise, 2000’s ‘Soon Forget’ finds the frontman previewing his ‘Ukulele Songs’ LP of 2011 by presenting said instrument to the fore.

Great songwriters rarely lose their touch, whatever the shifting of bandmates – and Pearl Jam has welcomed five different drummers over the years. ‘Lightning Bolt’, released on October 14th via Monkeywrench/Republic, vividly portrays the differing tangents this band can take its signature sound on.

Opener ‘Getaway’ is immediately striking, its fierce riff self-assured with arena-shaking confidence. Guitarist Mike McCready’s solos reflect this band’s classic rock roots, while the vigorous beats from ex-Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron are breathtaking.

The following ‘Mind Your Manners’ continues this all-guns-blazing approach. The guitar here is more barbed than the previous cut, with a real heavy metal feel. The adrenaline begins to surge. ‘My Father’s Son’ ensures it doesn’t dissipate, its primal punk-cum-garage momentum indicative of a band truly locked into their flow.

Track four, ‘Sirens’, is the first step into Pearl Jam’s refined acoustic territory. At its beginning there’s just Vedder with a single guitar, before McCready ups the track’s intensity and the vocals rise in unison. It’s an all-out affair.

The title-track finds those two words, “lightning bolt”, howled during its chorus. It’s remarkably similar, in a good way, to ‘Animal’, a number from 1993’s second LP, ‘Vs.’. So far, ‘Lightning Bolt’ feels like a live set taken into a studio, such is its pace.

‘Infallible’ – another rougher-edged song, the fifth of its kind so far – is a hard-grunge affair which finds Vedder hitting every note with real precision, like a spear fisherman not missing a single strike. It’s a wonder how this man’s voice has sustained across the years – he sounds every bit as strong here as he did on ‘Ten’ and ‘Vs.’, what feels like a lifetime ago (and, for some fans, probably is).

And then, something completely different, as ‘Pendulum’ sounds unlike anything these men have recorded previously. It’s a bleak piece, reverbed guitar bringing a real sense of desolation to proceedings. A tambourine comes in, and an adagio bassline furthers the song’s atmospheric, experimental sound.

‘Swallowed Whole’ is similar to ‘Sirens’ – it begins quietly but builds to a rocking climax. A swaggering bass dominates the mix on ‘Let The Records Play’, the track’s jam-like qualities crystallising a very ‘90s sound, albeit one mixed with the raw garage of Iggy And The Stooges.

‘Sleeping By Myself’ is taken from ‘Ukulele Songs’, but further developed here, as you’d expect from a full-band version. The emotion of the original remains, though, with a great connection between the lyrics and melodic backing. The penultimate ‘Yellow Man’, too, manages to convey this fluency between each member’s role, the despair-soaked vocals reflecting the lead guitar’s tone.

Closer ‘Future Days’ is the first time on ‘Lightning Bolt’ where the lyrics are completely positive, perhaps expressing the contentment these men have found in middle age, with families beside them. They’re happy, and this folk-like number comprises a fine bookend to this tenth studio album.

Words: Cai Trefor

[dvi2702]

First Listen: Pearl Jam's tenth studio album Lightning Bolt: http://drownedinsound.com/news/4146871- ... tning-bolt

[Denis]

The title-track finds those two words, “lightning bolt”, howled during its chorus. It’s remarkably similar, in a good way, to ‘Animal’, a number from 1993’s second LP, ‘Vs.’.

have you been drinking, son? you don't look old enough to me...

[Nanyness]

The title-track finds those two words, “lightning bolt”, howled during its chorus. It’s remarkably similar, in a good way, to ‘Animal’, a number from 1993’s second LP, ‘Vs.’.

have you been drinking, son? you don't look old enough to me...

[Nanyness]

First Listen: Pearl Jam's tenth studio album Lightning Bolt: http://drownedinsound.com/news/4146871- ... tning-bolt

Sirens
Right, we’ve reached cheesy ballad territory now. Any remaining hope that the album signals a return to a consistently harder rocking Pearl Jam sound is dwindling. The band think highly of this one apparently, but it’s bit too fluffy and middle-aged sounding for these ears.

Génial. La hype autour de Sirens = nouvelle Black semble vraiment n'avoir été que de la hype. BIEN ENTENDU.

Sinon, commence à y avoir quelques similarités avec la sortie de Backspacer, non ?

Le premier extrait prometteur qui envoie (Got Some/Mind Your Manners), la balade sirupeuse en second single (Just Breathe/Sirens), le morceau inspiré d'un disque solo de Vedder qui aurait plutôt dû rester bien au chaud au coin du feu (Tuolumne/Sleeping By Myself)...

Espérons que la galette elle-même s'en éloigne davantage et que ce ne sont que des coïncidences à la con.

Encore un mois, bordel.

[dranx]

Surveilles ton langage Nanyness !!

Le premier extrait était The fixer, mais bon je chipotte...

[Nanyness]

T'as raison les modos serrent la vis en ce moment, en plus. J'ose même pas imaginer le châtiment que Kim Jong-Un réserve aux gens qui jurent comme des charretiers.

(Complètement zappé The Fixer )

[thefrenchconnection]

J'aime cette review ....

Pearl Jam are a bit like croissants. It feels like a long time ago that you were particularly excited about them but every time they cross your path you cannot help but fall in love with them all over again. That’s the magic of being a great rock band I guess, and Pearl Jam have always been a great rock band. Even during the least creatively inspired periods of their discography they have remained a superlative-inducing live act and, perhaps most significantly, they have always retained the respect of their fans. It’s clear that, unlike certain other major names in the rock world, Pearl Jam have always, and will always, care.

That means that, as DiS prepares to listen to the band’s tenth studio album, Lightning Bolt, at an exclusive London private members club no less (how grunge is that?), we can at least be confident that it won’t be a complete St Anger style middle finger to the face record. Here’s some early impressions from the first listen...



‘Getaway’

Opening track ‘Getaway’ has the edge of punked up Vitalogy-era Pearl Jam but with a slightly more accessible edge. ”It’s ok, sometimes you find yourself being told to change your ways”, sings an impassioned Eddie in the chorus. A rousing opening track.

‘Mind Your Manners’

If you are reading this then you have probably already heard this one, it being the first single off the record. The riffs are pretty tight and mechanical by Pearl Jam standards, and, along with the opener, it gets the record off to a harder start than 2009’s Backspacer, which was a more poppy affair from the outset.


‘My Father’s Son’
This is a bit more like the Backspacer sound. There may be some synths going on in the background here, which is nice. On first listen this is fairly unremarkable, but it definitely signals that the album isn’t going to stay in the more rock-centric vein of the first two tracks.

‘Sirens’
Right, we’ve reached cheesy ballad territory now. Any remaining hope that the album signals a return to a consistently harder rocking Pearl Jam sound is dwindling. The band think highly of this one apparently, but it’s bit too fluffy and middle-aged sounding for these ears.

‘Lightning Bolt’
We’ve now reached a more Yield-esque sound, which is either great news or the worst case scenario depending on your perspective. Spiky enough to carry a little bit of attitude, but there’s not really any real aggression present either. The riffs are probably good enough to make this one into a minor live favourite.

‘Infallible’
Ooh, more synths. This reminds me of some of the more interesting moments on Binaural. Probably the most exciting moment on the record upon first listen, but, as ever, it’s tricky to be too positive on the back of just one listen. Definitely one to look out for at any rate.
‘Pendulum’

Yet more synths, and some piano too.

We’ve gone full-on from punkier Pearl Jam to that rarest of Pearl Jam forms, the experimental Pearl Jam, in the space of the first seven tracks. Matt Cameron’s drumming gives this an almost krautrockian vibe, which is pretty damned cool it has to be said.

‘Swallowed Whole’
We’re back to the jangly Backspacer sound again. After the two previous tracks this one is a bit hard to get too excited about, but it’s not necessarily any worse, just more straightforward.

‘Let the Records Play’
Oh dear. This is one of those rare moments when Pearl Jam come off as almost pastiche-like in their attempts to make a song that’s pure “fun”. They have rarely pulled off the trick successfully since ‘Rats’ two decades ago. Unfortunately they definitely don’t get it right here.

‘Sleeping by Myself’
A reprisal of one of the songs from Eddie’s solo Ukulele Songs record from a couple of years back. Apparently this was re-recorded and included on the album at the suggestion of producer Brendan O’Brien. He’s had better ideas.


‘Yellow Moon’
Quite an atmospheric track, and features some great guitar playing from Mike McCready. It feels like it’s trying to be a bit more epic than it’s perhaps capable of, but it’s definitely a massive step-up from the previous two songs. “One life, one grave”; Eddie at his least cheerful or his most philosophical?

‘Future Days’
We’re at the end already. This comes off a bit like the band’s attempt at ‘Love Reign O’er Me’ at first, largely thanks to a sweeping piano intro. [/b]It ends up being a bit lower key than that though. There are no drums, but there is some nice violin playing. A nice way to end the album, [b]and the best ballad-like track on the record into the bargain.



All in all? Well it’s a mixed bag in all honesty. The first two tracks are very misleading, as [b]they are the two most up-tempo “rocking” tracks on the whole album by some distance[/b]. Predominantly this is very methodically paced. In fact it’s almost Riot Act esque in that it feels very measured from ‘My Father’s Son’ onward. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing when it results in ‘Infallible’ and ‘Pendulum’, or in fact ‘Yellow Moon’ and ‘Future Days’, but ‘Sirens’ and ‘Sleeping by Myself’ come across as rather flaky from first listen. Whether a more consistent sonic approach would have been better is debatable, but at least Lightning Bolt isn’t afraid to be varied. This in itself proves that Pearl Jam are still very much a valid concern.

Lightning Bolt is set for release on October 15th. Pre-order your copy from pearljam.com/lightningbolt.

[Denis]

T'as raison les modos serrent la vis en ce moment, en plus. J'ose même pas imaginer le châtiment que Kim Jong-Un réserve aux gens qui jurent comme des charretiers.

(Complètement zappé The Fixer )

sans doute parce que Got Some était diffusé avant chez Conan O'Brien, si je me souviens bien?

mais ça va, Kim joue au basket avec Rodman en ce moment, il est cool. Pour le moment.

[Nanyness]

sans doute parce que Got Some était diffusé avant chez Conan O'Brien, si je me souviens bien?

Oui, Conan, exactement.

Des racines irlandaises, des cheveux roux, j'sais pas pourquoi mais ça a dû plus me marquer que The Fixer.

[mike baroud]

je vais attendre la sortie aussi. pas le courage de me tapper juste des bouts et bon, c'est pas un ensemble compact de chansons qui ont fait les meilleurs albums de pj ?

[CrazyHorse]

je vais attendre la sortie aussi. pas le courage de me tapper juste des bouts et bon, c'est pas un ensemble compact de chansons qui ont fait les meilleurs albums de pj ?

Non, ce sont des bonnes chansons. Bonnes chansons qui font qu'on supporte les moins bonnes sur la totalité d'un album.

[Denis]

je vais attendre la sortie aussi. pas le courage de me tapper juste des bouts et bon, c'est pas un ensemble compact de chansons qui ont fait les meilleurs albums de pj ?

Non, ce sont des bonnes chansons. Bonnes chansons qui font qu'on supporte les moins bonnes sur la totalité d'un album.

y a de ça, mais ça fait quelques jours que j'écoute Riot Act en voiture, et je trouve que l'album est vraiment cohérent, notamment au niveau de la voix de Vedder, plus sombre, plus grave, ce qui colle avec le ton de l'album. J'ai du mal à comprendre/accepter que Vedder ne chante plus comme ça, alors que sa voix est de plus en plus flinguée.

Je note que Riot Act n'a pas été produit par Brendan O'Brien (l'a pas des origines irlandaises aussi, lui? Prove me wrong)

[vedder de poche]

Riot act serait pas l'album le plus cohérent dans son ensemble de leur carriere ? bam, pavé dans la mare, question ouverte qui perturbe.

[Denis]

Riot act serait pas l'album le plus cohérent dans son ensemble de leur carriere ? bam, pavé dans la mare, question ouverte qui perturbe.

avec Ten, forcément cohérent vu qu'il n'y avait rien avant, je pense que c'est le cas, oui. Et je pense que c'est aussi leur album le plus sous-estimé.

[vedder de poche]

Riot act serait pas l'album le plus cohérent dans son ensemble de leur carriere ? bam, pavé dans la mare, question ouverte qui perturbe.

avec Ten, forcément cohérent vu qu'il n'y avait rien avant, je pense que c'est le cas, oui. Et je pense que c'est aussi leur album le plus sous-estimé.

je walid la double déclaration. Denis, mon nouveau meilleur ami.

[dvi2702]

Mike vous parle de LB: http://www.triplem.com.au/sydney/music/ ... ning-bolt/
Audio: https://soundcloud.com/higgos-1/pearl-j ... rview-mike

-mike thinks they wrote 15 'ideas' in addition to what they have put on the album
-mike's happy how sirens came out, how BoB helped him arrange it, and ed write lyrics
-infallible written by jeff is exciting
-songs getting shot down during recording process happens alot in the band
-mike describes sirens as writing it after seeing a roger waters concert and being blown away by it. He wanted to write some kind of 'dark pink floyd thing'. it later turned into something that was more expansive, the demo was a little less structured that the version that made the record. Brendan came in and helped arrange it and put some piano, and Ed wrote some lyrics. Mike was blown away when Ed put the lyrics over the track (in the second session)
-sleeping by myself is a short tune, pendulum too
-pendulum written by jeff for backspacer sessions. it never got realized for that record, didn't 'make sense' at the time. Ed suggested they bring it back for LB. Ed did another vocal take on it, and jeff or stone added some guitars, and thats it. It wasn't re-recorded. Mike doesn't play at all on it.
-LTRP, .Stone brought in the riff, Brendan heard it and said 'what is that riff'. Mike tried to take a Jeff Beck take on it.
-Swallowed Hole brought in by Ed during the second session. In the first session Ed didn't have many songs, maybe one. Mike looking forwarded to how the audience will relate to it and how they will play it live.