Pearl Jam will release their twelfth studio album, ‘Dark Matter’, on Monkeywrench Records/Republic Records on April 19, 2024 and launch a 35-date worldwide tour – including dates in Australia and New Zealand.
The album’s title track is available now HERE. Produced by multi-GRAMMY® award winning producer Andrew Watt, ‘Dark Matter’, marks the band’s first release since critically-acclaimed ‘Gigaton’ (2020). ‘Dark Matter’ is now available for pre-order HERE.
In 2023, the members of Pearl Jam—Eddie Vedder [vocals], Jeff Ament [bass], Stone Gossard [rhythm guitar], Mike McCready [lead guitar], and Matt Cameron [drums]—retreated to Shangri-La Studios in Malibu where they simply plugged in and played with producer Andrew Watt at the helm.
The musicians faced one another in the same space and communicated sonically at the highest level. Writing and recording in a burst of inspiration, ‘Dark Matter’ was born in just three weeks.
As a result, ‘Dark Matter’ channels the shared spirit of a group of lifelong creative confidants and brothers in one room playing as if their very lives depended on it. All of the blood, sweat, tears, and energy of a storied career felt renewed and poured into this one body of work.
The band members personally previewed the record with a listening party at the iconic Troubadour in West Hollywood during GRAMMY® week: Vedder said: “I’m getting chills, because I have good memories. We’re still looking for ways to communicate. We’re at this time in our lives when you could do it or you could not do it, but we still care about putting something out there that is meaningful and we hopefully think is our best work. No hyperbole, I think this is our best work.”
Ament added, “What Ed said about getting us in a room at this point, we felt like we were about to make a really important record. A lot of that had to do with the atmosphere Andrew set up. He has encyclopedic knowledge of our history, not only as a band and how we wrote songs, but as players. He could pinpoint things we did on old songs to the point where I was like, ‘What the fuck is he talking about?’ His excitement was contagious. He’s a force. I just want to say thanks for keeping us on track. I couldn’t be prouder of us as a band. I feel so grateful for the fans, but mostly for my brothers and these people I’ve made music with.”
The band is celebrating indie record stores with the release of a special edition of ‘Dark Matter’ on April 20. Only at participating stores as part of Record Store Day. Get more information and find stores at www.recordstoreday.com
‘Dark Matter’ album packaging features light painting art by Alexandr Gnezdilov. Light painting is an artistic form of photography where images are created by adjusting a camera’s exposure for an extended period and using a light source, such as a flashlight, to “paint” in the dark. The album cover art was crafted using a large self-made kaleidoscope. Each letter visible on the cover was individually captured and handwritten midair with a specially designed flashlight to create the pearlescent effect.
In support of ‘Dark Matter’, Pearl Jam will head out on a world tour this year, marking the first time the band has announced a new album and tour simultaneously and first time the group has unveiled all worldwide tour dates at once. Their global tour, hitting nine countries and 25 cities, kicks off at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, and will cover much of North America including shows at Wrigley Field, Madison Square Garden, Fenway Park, and their first hometown performance in six years at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena, the world’s first net zero certified arena.
The tour continues with performances in the UK and Europe, including their first performance at London’s brand new and state-of-the-art Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, through September, followed by the group’s long-awaited ten-year return to New Zealand and Australia this November.
Special guests Deep Sea Diver (North America Leg 1), Glen Hansard (North America Leg 2), The Murder Capital (UK/EU), Richard Ashcroft (Dublin and London) and Pixies (Australia and New Zealand) will serve as support for these dates.
‘Dark Matter’ will be released on April 19th 2024. Pre-Order HERE
PEARL JAM
AU / NZ TOUR 2024
Nov 08 – Go Media Stadium, Auckland, NZ
Nov 13 – Heritage Bank Stadium, Gold Coast, AU
Nov 16 – Marvel Stadium, Melbourne, AU
Nov 21 – Giants Stadium, Sydney, AU
With thanks to Live Nation Australia
