Blog: loudloop

Pearl Jam's ninth studio album, Backspacer , finds the band relaxing into a groove of sleek, '70s guitar-filled mid-tempo anthems, revved-up wanna be-punk rockers and subdued acoustic meditations (complete with strings!). But for a band about to reach their twenty-year milestone, relaxing into a groove usually means playing it safe and playing it safe usually means laziness and lack of innovation. This couldn't be truer with Backspacer. The album feels forced, and although these are new songs, they sound like weaker versions of Pearl Jam's most impressive moments from earlier in their career. [...]