Pearl Jam fans looking for a temporary-coma pill to pass the time between now and the October 14 release date of the band’s tenth album Lightning Bolt have new reason to be excited – the band promises a new dose of excellence with their return.
“If you’re a Pearl Jam fan you’re going to love it,” PJ lead guitarist Mike McCready teased of the album, “and even if you’re not, maybe it’ll turn you into one!”
Listen to Pearl Jam’s new rocker “Mind Your Manners” and find out all there is to know about the band’s upcoming new album right here.
In an interview with Total Guitar, Mike explained that the band went through a particularly lengthy writing process this time around, before recording began, with longtime friend and producer Brendan O’Brien.
“We started it two years ago,” says Mike, “then we had to pull back. We finished seven songs two years ago and we had to take some time to figure out what we wanted to do. And write some more songs. So about four months ago we started up again with a brand new batch of songs to go along with those.
“I think getting away from them and taking the time to do it, and discussing with Brendan O’Brien who is producing it, having many meetings between ourselves about these things, yet keeping it fresh while we were recording it.”
Has the time off been beneficial? “I think it’s helped,” he explained” I think it’s going to be really cool record and I’m very excited about it. Every artist says that about their new thing but I feel like we’ve been through a long journey to get there and it was totally worth it.”
A superfan’s list of the 30 Best Pearl Jam Songs of All Time
Read McCready’s full feature in issue 243 of Total Guitar.
Photo: Johnny Firecloud
