Lightning Bolt | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 15, 2013 [1] | |||
Recorded | 2011–2013 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 47:14 | |||
Label | Monkeywrench, Republic | |||
Producer | Brendan O'Brien | |||
Pearl Jam chronology | ||||
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Singles from Lightning Bolt | ||||
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Lightning Bolt is the tenth studio album by the American rock band Pearl Jam. Produced by long-time Pearl Jam collaborator Brendan O'Brien, the album was released in the United States on October 15, 2013, through the band's own Monkeywrench Records, with Republic Records handling the international release one day earlier.
The band began composing new songs in 2011, the album's first recording sessions took place in early 2012 before the musicians decided to take a break. As all band members got into side projects afterwards, work on Lightning Bolt only resumed in March 2013. The music for Lightning Bolt has a harder rock sound with longer songs in contrast to predecessor Backspacer (2009), and the lyrics convey singer Eddie Vedder's feelings on aging and mortality.
Preceded by a promotional campaign focusing on Pearl Jam's website and social network profiles and two moderately successful singles, "Mind Your Manners" and "Sirens", Lightning Bolt was well received by critics, who considered the album an effective return to the band's old sound, and topped the charts in the United States, Canada, and Australia.
Ultimately, Lightning Bolt became the only Pearl Jam studio album of original material released in the 2010s decade (as its predecessor Backspacer was released in 2009 and its successor Gigaton was released in 2020).
Soon after completing Backspacer in 2009, Pearl Jam and producer Brendan O'Brien intended to soon repeat the experience given that according to O'Brien "we had a really good time doing it.". [3] In 2011, amidst preparations for the documentary Pearl Jam Twenty and its accompanying tour, the band recorded some tracks with O'Brien at Los Angeles' Henson Recording Studios, with the song "Olé" being issued as a free download. [4] O'Brien considered that the studio helped the band get to a "submarine mentality, and everybody going into the ship together", [5] and bassist Jeff Ament added that working outside the band's hometown Seattle led the musicians to work more efficiently. [4]
After some time developing demos, the musicians returned to Henson in March 2012, [6] recording seven songs before the band decided to take a break, as according to guitarist Mike McCready "we had to take some time to figure out what we wanted to do." [7] Guitarist Stone Gossard added that despite the bandmembers thinking that after the productive sessions the album was nearing completion, eventually they considered the tracks "didn’t feel strong enough for a record. [8] Work on the album resumed only in March 2013 as the bandmembers regrouped with new compositions, [7] mostly done separately in each member's home studio—though McCready at times worked along with drummer Matt Cameron—before the group reunited to finish the songs together. [9] O'Brien attributed the long break to the band's busy schedule, [3] as the musicians got into side projects after putting the Pearl Jam album on hold: singer Eddie Vedder started a solo tour, drummer Matt Cameron returned to Soundgarden, [10] guitarist Stone Gossard rejoined side project Brad, [11] Ament recorded solo album While My Heart Beats and started the project RNDM, [12] and McCready formed the group Walking Papers while also taking part in a partial reunion of Mad Season. [9] [10] Vedder still considered that all the diversions helped Pearl Jam to have "more importance placed on the records" and focusing on making the best album possible. [13] Like with previous records the songs had their first recordings with all the musicians playing together, though O'Brien added that with Lightning Bolt "we don’t keep as much of [the live recordings] as we used to." [5] Guest musicians include O'Brien himself at the keyboards, [14] long time keyboardist Boom Gaspar, [15] and violinist Ann Marie Calhoun. [16] After six weeks of new recording sessions, the album was mixed in Seattle at the band's desire, [3] with the process taking place in Studio X. [17]
In contrast to the short tracks of Backspacer, Lightning Bolt features longer songs [3] and a more experimental sound that McCready declared to aim for "a logical extension of what Backspacer was". [18] Stone Gossard added that the band being more comfortable with the composing and recording process lead to "a slight return to some of the more sort of peculiar things we did, say, between No Code and Binaural ." [8] McCready said that "there's a Pink Floyd vibe to some of it, there's a punk rock edge to other stuff", [18] with the lead singles "Mind Your Manners" and "Sirens" being inspired by the Dead Kennedys and a concert in Roger Waters' The Wall Live, respectively. [19] Neil Young was noted as an influence in "Yellow Moon". [20] O'Brien considered the track listing to have "a lot of drama" from the intensity of the musicians' work, but that the band itself were united and enjoying themselves during the creation process. [14] According to Gossard, the album's simpler arrangements, "sussed out" songwriting and less production than in Backspacer made for songs that were easier to learn and play live. [8] One of the tracks, "Sleeping by Myself", had been previously featured in Vedder's 2011 solo album Ukulele Songs . O'Brien suggested the re-recording as he thought that the composition was "a Pearl Jam song as far as I’m concerned." [5] Another, "Pendulum", was originally composed during the Backspacer sessions. [19]
While writing the lyrics to Lightning Bolt, Vedder tried to be less cryptic in expressing his feelings compared to the "word games" of previous Pearl Jam albums. [13] The songs discuss lasting relationships, bad faith ("Getaway," "Mind Your Manners"), the state of the world ("Infallible") and life's transience ("Pendulum"), [21] which Vedder summed up as "the same mysteries that I’ve been trying to unravel for a few decades now." [22] Gossard explained that the reflective tone was indicative of the bandmembers' age: "[At] 40-something, almost 50-something, you're looking at life through your kids' eyes, through the filter of relationships that are 20 or 30 years long, through the filter of your parents getting older and the passing of friends and relatives-relationships and all that they encompass, the difficulties of them and the sacrifices you make in them and also the joy they bring you." Vedder at first was afraid of writing songs about mortality, but relented given he felt that "death is everywhere" and writing about death would help "getting through it", [21] as "living to the day you die, and being cognizant of the end, you might lead a more appreciative life". [13] One of the compositions about the theme was "Future Days", which discusses the loss of Vedder's friend Dennis Flemion, who accidentally drowned in 2012. [21] The concernment in the songs also owed to Vedder being a father, as the singer detailed that "It’s going to be their world and what is their future? It feels like there is a lot that can be lost in the next 50 years if people don’t pay attention." [22]
Pearl Jam's website and social network pages were extensively used to create expectations and excitement for the upcoming album, with two countdown clocks being posted on the band's website. [21] The first was revealed July 1, 2013, and once it hit zero a week later, the site had an announcement of a 24 date two-leg tour in North America from October 11, 2013, through December 6, 2013. [23] After the tour was revealed, the PearlJam.com countdown clock reset, showing a new countdown which was set to end on July 11, 2013, [23] and afterwards lead to news of the band's tenth studio album Lightning Bolt being released on October 15, 2013. [24] On the same day the band revealed lead single "Mind Your Manners" through digital download, radio airplay and an audio-only YouTube video. The track received heavy airplay on rock radio, debuting at 12th on the Billboard Rock Airplay charts, and with 14,000 downloads reached number 14 at Rock Digital Songs and 12 on the Alternative Rock Tracks charts. [25] An official Pearl Jam app was made available on iTunes on July 25, 2013, and through the final week of August, the band's Twitter revealed Lightning Bolt's track list through the artwork made by designer Don Pendleton for each track. [26] [27] "Mind Your Manners" was played live for the first time at their show in London, Ontario on July 16, 2013. [28] [29] Three days later the band debuted two more songs, "Lightning Bolt" and "Future Days," during a show at Wrigley Field. [30] [31] On August 23, 2013, the music video was released for "Mind Your Manners," directed by Danny Clinch. [32]
On September 18, 2013, the band released Lightning Bolt's second single, "Sirens", [33] [34] and put online a short documentary directed by Danny Clinch where the bandmembers discussed the new album with friends Carrie Brownstein, Judd Apatow, Mark Richards and Steve Gleason. [35] Ament suggested the concept of the video inspired by the Vanity Fair Comedy Issue, thinking it would be a variant on traditional press interviews. [21] On September 23, 2013, the music video was released for "Sirens", also directed by Clinch. [36] A special listening party with fans was held by Sirius XM at Seattle's Studio X eleven days before the album's release. [15] Monkeywrench Records and Republic Records sent the album's title track, "Lightning Bolt" to mainstream rock and modern rock radio on March 4, 2014, as the album's third single. [37] [38]
Pearl Jam released the album through Monkeywrench Records/Republic Records in conjunction with Universal Music Group in the United States. [39] The album also saw release through the band's official website, independent record stores and online retailers. It was made available to stream for free for a limited time on iTunes on October 7, 2013, in the run up to the official release. [40] The band promoted the release of the album with a week-long programme of shows on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon , which included live performances of "Sirens" and the title track "Lightning Bolt". [41] [42] Pearl Jam also licensed the songs of Lightning Bolt along with 36 other tracks from their catalog to Fox Sports for the network's coverage of the 2013 World Series. [43]
Pearl Jam promoted the album with shows in North America in 2013 before a tour of Oceania in January 2014. [44] [45] The band headlined the Voodoo Music + Arts Experience on November 1, 2013. [46] [47] The shows in Oceania were part of the Big Day Out festival. [48] On November 15, 2013, drummer Matt Cameron announced that he would not be touring with Soundgarden in 2014, due to prior commitments promoting Lightning Bolt. [49] On December 13, 2013, the band announced an eleven-date European leg starting on June 16, 2014. [50] In May 2014, the band announced a ten-date tour of the American Midwest starting on October 1, 2014, to coincide with two appearances at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. [51] [52] To conclude the tour, the band played at the annual Bridge School Benefit in Mountain View, California. [53] [54] In March 2015 the band announced a nine-date tour of Latin America, scheduled to start in November. [55]
The artwork for Lightning Bolt was made by Don Pendleton, who is best known as a skateboard graphic artist. Ament bought some of Pendleton's paintings "in 2008 or 2009" and later asked the artist to do a logo for their upcoming album, which would later develop into all the illustrations. The bassist then kept in contact with Pendleton to guide his work, sending him the song lyrics, some sketches he had done and an unmastered copy of the album. [56] The intention was to "make something that was a total package", according to Pendleton, who said that there was an attempt to bring back "these classic LPs in the days where you would read the lyrics. You related the band to the imagery to the song to the lyrics." [57] Pendleton tried to "keep it iconic with some symbols but also really heavy with archetypes", given the body of images could be used consistently with all of the promotion. While some of the graphics evolved directly from Ament's sketches, Pendleton took some inspiration from his past work, such as a series of skateboards he painted "based around icons and logos", and the very first image sent to Ament, an eye with a lightning bolt which Pendleton made back in 2006 for a failed project, that evolved into the album cover. Said cover was painted by hand as Pendleton wanted "something so geometric that there would be some flaws in it, especially compared to the vector/computer stuff". Republic Records art designer Joe Spix then handled the presentation, with particular detail in the vinyl packaging. Pendleton also painted Ament's bass, [56] Pearl Jam-themed shirts for Volcom, and posters for the Barclays Center concerts in October 2013. [58] At the 57th Annual Grammy Awards in February 2015, the album won the award for Best Recording Package. [59]
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AnyDecentMusic? | 6.5/10 [60] |
Metacritic | 73/100 [61] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
The A.V. Club | B+ [62] |
AllMusic | [63] |
Chicago Tribune | [64] |
Entertainment Weekly | B+ [65] |
New York Daily News | [66] |
PopMatters | 8/10 [67] |
Rolling Stone | [68] |
The Guardian | [69] |
Slant Magazine | [70] |
Spin | 6/10 [71] |
Upon its release, Lightning Bolt was met with generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 73, based on 33 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [61] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic gave the album four out of five stars, stating that the band seemed more settled and comfortable while "accentuating the big riffs and bigger emotions, crafting songs without a worry as to whether they're hip or not and, most importantly, enjoying the deep-rooted, nervy arena rock that is uniquely their own." [63] Jim Farber of the New York Daily News gave the album four out of five stars, commenting that while "some key sounds and sensibilities" and uplifting lyrics were unlike Pearl Jam's earlier style, the music in Lightning Bolt marked a return to the "thick-bottomed rhythms, hard-nosed guitars and darkened tone of classic Pearl Jam" compared to predecessor Backspacer. [66] Cole Waterman of PopMatters gave the album an eight out of ten, praising "Pearl Jam thriving in their persona, building on what worked in the past without trying to copy it while adding new elements to the mix" and feeling that despite "the closing songs get[ting] monotonous in their united balladry", "Future Days" was a good album closer, comparing it to Tom Waits. [67]
Dom Lawson of The Guardian gave the album three out of five stars, describing it as "a sturdy return to great form". [69] Tom Willmott of The Independent gave the album three out of five stars, considering Lightning Bolt to "offer a broad range of styles" and praising the rock-focused tracks. [72] Will Hermes of Rolling Stone gave the album three and a half stars out of five, saying that Eddie Vedder's earnest lyrics and vocals made for compelling tracks, and that the musicians "overthink, overemote and overreach — fruitfully". [68] Josh Modell of The A.V. Club gave the album a B+, complaining about the excessive length and "a couple too many songs that revisit the past without any fresh insight" while feeling that "the album still feels fresher and more relevant than the world at large might expect at this point." [62] Marc Hirsh of The Boston Globe considered the album to showcase that Pearl Jam "has plenty of spark left", comparing it to both the "dense eclecticism" of the band's own Vitalogy (1994), and "The Who’s solidity of purpose". [73] "My Father's Son" was described as one of Vedder's "most intense performances to date" and a "sturdy return to great form". [74]
Some reviewers still felt that Lightning Bolt was not up to the standards set by the band's previous work. Blue Sullivan of Slant Magazine gave the album three out of five stars, saying that the album had a "familiar spark" and was dragged down by "Pearl Jam's antiseptic '70s-album-rock-radio conservatism, along with frontman Eddie Vedder's ham-fisted lyrics", ultimately concluding that "Lightning Bolt is no masterwork. Years removed from the raw emotion and desperate appetites of youth, Pearl Jam has slipped into alt-rock elder statesmanship as one would a comfortable old sweater." [70] Rob Harvilla of Spin gave the album a six out of ten, describing it as "far from an implosion, far from spectacular", criticizing the focus on calm songs and considering that Backspacer "barked louder and bit harder overall." [71] In his 5.0 out of 10 review for Pitchfork , Stuart Berman also had a negative reaction to what he described as "centerpiece ballads [that] tread on odious Lite-FM territory and forcefully tip the scales from poignant to maudlin". [75] Philip Cosores of Paste gave the album a 4.0 out of 10, saying "The album does grow on the listener, as Vedder's voice and the band's seeming ambivalence to all musical trends and developments outside of them is strangely comforting. And maybe some of these songs will come alive when performed, but there is not a single one to love in the set. Essentially, the cruise control is running onward with disregard for all the maintenance and repairs that an engine needs, and the result is the worst album of their career." [76]
Lightning Bolt became Pearl Jam's fifth studio album to have debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 166,000 copies in the United States. [77] In its second week the album sold 46,000 copies holding the number two position on the chart. [78] The album also debuted at number one in Canada, selling 23,000 copies in its first week, [79] and becoming the band's second consecutive album to debut at number one on the Canadian Albums Chart. [80] In Australia, Lightning Bolt became Pearl Jam's eighth chart-topper at the ARIA Charts. [81] Lightning Bolt debuted at second at the UK Albums Chart, being Pearl Jam's highest-charting album in the United Kingdom since 1993's Vs. [82] The album also topped the music charts in Belgium, Ireland, Croatia and Portugal, and held the second spot in the Netherlands, Italy, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland.
In the 2020 video game The Last of Us Part II , Joel performs an acoustic guitar cover of "Future Days" for Ellie and teaches her how to play it. However, at various points in the game after Joel's death, Ellie quickly gives up on each of her attempts to play it because it reminds her too much of him. Eddie Vedder later performed the song at The Game Awards 2020. “Future Days” was also used in the official trailer of season two for HBO’s The Last of Us.
All lyrics are written by Eddie Vedder
No. | Title | Music | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Getaway" | Vedder | 3:26 |
2. | "Mind Your Manners" | Mike McCready | 2:38 |
3. | "My Father's Son" | Jeff Ament | 3:07 |
4. | "Sirens" | McCready | 5:41 |
5. | "Lightning Bolt" | Vedder | 4:13 |
6. | "Infallible" | Ament, Stone Gossard | 5:22 |
7. | "Pendulum" | Ament, Gossard | 3:44 |
8. | "Swallowed Whole" | Vedder | 3:51 |
9. | "Let the Records Play" | Gossard | 3:46 |
10. | "Sleeping by Myself" | Vedder | 3:04 |
11. | "Yellow Moon" | Ament | 3:52 |
12. | "Future Days" | Vedder | 4:22 |
Total length: | 47:14 |
Pearl Jam
Additional personnel
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [125] | Gold | 35,000^ |
Canada (Music Canada) [126] | Platinum | 80,000^ |
Italy (FIMI) [127] | Platinum | 60,000* |
Poland (ZPAV) [128] | Gold | 10,000* |
Portugal (AFP) [129] | 3× Platinum | 45,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [130] | Silver | 60,000‡ |
United States | — | 411,310 [131] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Region | Date | Format | Label |
---|---|---|---|
Australia [132] | October 14, 2013 | CD, digital download, LP [133] | Monkeywrench, Republic |
Belgium [134] | |||
Denmark [135] | |||
France [136] | |||
Ireland [137] | |||
Italy [138] | |||
Netherlands [139] | |||
New Zealand [140] | |||
Norway [141] | |||
Spain [142] | |||
Sweden [143] | |||
Switzerland [144] | |||
United Kingdom [145] | |||
Germany [146] | |||
United States [147] | October 15, 2013 | ||
Canada [148] |
Ten is the debut studio album by the American rock band Pearl Jam, released on August 27, 1991, through Epic Records. Following the dissolution of their previous band Mother Love Bone in 1990, bassist Jeff Ament and guitarist Stone Gossard began rehearsing with new guitarist Mike McCready. The group recorded a five-song instrumental demo tape that included contributions from Matt Cameron on drums. Copies of the demo were eventually given to drummer Dave Krusen and vocalist Eddie Vedder, both of whom were invited to audition for the band in Seattle. Many of the songs on Ten were instrumental jams or reworked Mother Love Bone songs for which Vedder provided lyrics.
Temple of the Dog was an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. It was conceived by vocalist Chris Cornell of Soundgarden as a tribute to his friend, the late Andrew Wood, lead singer of the bands Malfunkshun and Mother Love Bone. The lineup included Stone Gossard on rhythm guitar, Jeff Ament on bass guitar, Mike McCready on lead guitar, and Matt Cameron on drums. Eddie Vedder appeared as a guest to provide some lead and backing vocals and later became lead vocalist of Pearl Jam. Pearl Jam's debut album, Ten, was released four months after Temple of the Dog's only studio album.
No Code is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Pearl Jam, released on August 27, 1996, through Epic Records. Following a troubled tour for its previous album, Vitalogy (1994), in which Pearl Jam engaged in a much-publicized boycott of Ticketmaster, the band went into the studio to record its follow-up. The music on the record was more diverse than what the band had done on previous releases, incorporating elements of garage rock and worldbeat.
Yield is the fifth studio album by American rock band Pearl Jam, released on February 3, 1998. Following a short promotional tour for its previous album, No Code (1996), Pearl Jam recorded Yield throughout 1997 at Studio Litho and Studio X in Seattle, Washington. The album was hailed as a return to the band's early, straightforward rock sound, and marked a more collaborative effort from the band as opposed to relying heavily on frontman Eddie Vedder to compose the song lyrics from the past four studio albums.
Live on Two Legs is the first major live album by the American alternative rock band Pearl Jam, released on November 24, 1998, through Epic Records. The album has been certified platinum by the RIAA in the United States.
Binaural is the sixth studio album by American rock band Pearl Jam, released May 16, 2000, through Epic Records. Following a full-scale tour in support of its previous album, Yield (1998), Pearl Jam took a short break before reconvening toward the end of 1999 to begin work on a new album. During the production of the album, the band encountered hindrances such as singer Eddie Vedder's writer's block, and guitarist Mike McCready's entrance into rehabilitation due to an addiction to prescription drugs. This is Pearl Jam's first album to feature former Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron, who joined during 1998's Yield Tour to replace Jack Irons.
Riot Act is the seventh studio album by American rock band Pearl Jam, released November 12, 2002, through Epic Records. Following a full-scale tour in support of their previous album, Binaural (2000), Pearl Jam took a year-long break. The band reconvened in the beginning of 2002 and commenced work on a new album. The music on the album was diverse, including songs influenced by folk, art rock and experimental rock. The lyrics deal with mortality and existentialism, with influence from both the political climate after the September 11 attacks and the accidental death of nine fans during Pearl Jam's performance at the 2000 Roskilde Festival.
Lost Dogs is a two-disc compilation album by the American alternative rock band Pearl Jam, released on November 11, 2003 through Epic Records. The album has been certified gold by the RIAA in the United States.
Stone Carpenter Gossard is an American musician and songwriter who serves as a guitarist for the rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of the band.
Live at Benaroya Hall is a two-disc live album by the American alternative rock band Pearl Jam, recorded on October 22, 2003 at Benaroya Hall, Seattle, Washington and released on July 27, 2004 through BMG.
"Alive" is the debut single by American rock band Pearl Jam. It was released on July 7, 1991, 51 days before the release of the band's debut album, Ten, on which "Alive" appears. Written by guitarist Stone Gossard, the song originated as an instrumental titled "Dollar Short" and was included on a demo tape circulated in hopes of finding a singer for the group. Vocalist Eddie Vedder obtained a copy of the tape and wrote lyrics that describe a somewhat fictionalized account of the time when he was told that the man he thought was his father was not actually his biological parent.
"Even Flow" is a song by the American rock band Pearl Jam. Featuring lyrics written by vocalist Eddie Vedder and music written by guitarist Stone Gossard, it was released in 1992 as the second single from the band's debut album, Ten (1991). The song peaked at number three on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The song was included in Pearl Jam's 2004 greatest hits album, rearviewmirror . A remixed version of the song was included on the 2009 Ten reissue.
Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, as well as Matt Cameron (drums), who joined in 1998. Keyboardist Boom Gaspar has also been a touring/session member with the band since 2002. Former members include Dave Krusen, Matt Chamberlain, Dave Abbruzzese, and Jack Irons, all of whom were the band's drummers from 1990 to 1998. Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, and is considered one of the most influential bands from that decade, dubbed "the most popular American rock and roll band of the '90s".
"Hail, Hail" is a song by the American rock band Pearl Jam. Featuring lyrics written by vocalist Eddie Vedder and music co-written by guitarist Stone Gossard, bassist Jeff Ament, and guitarist Mike McCready. "Hail, Hail" was released in October 1996 as the second single from the band's fourth studio album, No Code (1996). The song managed to reach the number nine spot on both the Mainstream Rock and Modern Rock Billboard charts. The song was included on Pearl Jam's 2004 greatest hits album, rearviewmirror .
"Tremor Christ" is a song by the American rock band Pearl Jam. The song is the fourth track on the band's third studio album, Vitalogy (1994). Although credited to all members of Pearl Jam, it features lyrics written by vocalist Eddie Vedder and music primarily written by guitarist Mike McCready and bass player Jeff Ament. Besides Vitalogy, the song was also featured as the B-side of the single, "Spin the Black Circle". The song managed to reach number 16 on both the Mainstream Rock and Modern Rock Billboard charts.
"Brother" is a song by American rock band Pearl Jam. Featuring lyrics written by vocalist Eddie Vedder and music written by guitarist Stone Gossard, "Brother" was an outtake from the band's debut album, Ten. An instrumental version of the song was included on the 2003 B-sides and rarities album, Lost Dogs. The version of "Brother" with vocals appears on the 2009 Ten reissue. The version of the song with vocals was released to radio in 2009; however, a commercial single was not released. The song topped the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, where it spent two weeks at number one.
Backspacer is the ninth studio album by the American rock band Pearl Jam, released on September 20, 2009. The band members started writing instrumental and demo tracks in 2007, and got together the following year to work on an album. It was recorded from February through April 2009 with producer Brendan O'Brien, who had worked on every Pearl Jam album except their 1991 debut Ten and 2006's self-titled record—although this was his first production credit since 1998's Yield. Material was recorded at Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles, California, and O'Brien's own Southern Tracks Recording in Atlanta, Georgia. The album features lyrics with a more optimistic look than the politically infused predecessors Riot Act and Pearl Jam, something frontman Eddie Vedder attributed to the election of Barack Obama. This is also the first album since 1996's No Code for which all lyrics for the album were written solely by Vedder. At 36 minutes and 38 seconds, Backspacer has the shortest running time of any Pearl Jam studio album.
"The Fixer" is a song by the rock band Pearl Jam. Featuring lyrics written by vocalist Eddie Vedder and music co-written by drummer Matt Cameron and guitarists Mike McCready and Stone Gossard, "The Fixer" was released on August 24, 2009, as the first single from the band's ninth studio album, Backspacer (2009). The song debuted and peaked at number two on the Billboard Rock Songs chart and reached number three on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart.
"Mind Your Manners" is a song by the American rock band Pearl Jam. It was released on July 11, 2013 as a digital download as the lead single from their tenth studio album Lightning Bolt. Writing for The Globe and Mail, Brad Wheeler said the song was "lean, swift and punishing". Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready said "It's my attempt to try to make a really hard edge-type Dead Kennedys-sounding song". Singer Eddie Vedder's lyrics criticize organized religion, which Vedder considers hypocritical for their intolerance and "so many of the things which have come out of those organizations– like the abuse of children and then its cover-up."
"Sirens" is a song by the American rock band Pearl Jam. It was released on September 18, 2013 as a digital download as the second single from their tenth studio album Lightning Bolt. In its first week of release, the single sold 13,000 downloads in the United States. Guitarist Mike McCready said the song was inspired by Roger Waters's The Wall Live Tour, when after attending a concert in 2011, he "wanted to write something that would have a Pink Floyd type feel". The lyrics by singer Eddie Vedder concern his worries on mortality and what the future holds for the next generation.