Pearl Jam’s new record will be “Heavier than you’d expect”

Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready has said that the band’s upcoming album is “a lot heavier than you’d expect.” The successor to 2020’s “Gigaton” is being produced by Andrew Watt (The Rolling Stones, Ozzy Osbourne, Post Malone, Dua Lipa), who had previously worked with Eddie Vedder on the Pearl Jam frontman’s 2022 solo LP “Earthling”.

Speaking to Classic Rock, McCready commented on the album, which Andrew Watt is producing: “When we were in the studio with him this past year, he really kicked our asses, got us focused and playing, song after song. It took a long time to make Gigaton, but this new one didn’t take long. Andrew was like: ‘You guys take forever to make records. Let’s do this, right now.’”

Talking about the musical direction of Pearl Jam‘s new material, McCready said: “It’s a lot heavier than you’d expect. There’s the melody and energy of the first couple of records. Andrew pushed us to play as hard and melodic and thoughtful as we’ve done in a long time. I feel like Matt Cameron’s drumming has elements of what he did in Soundgarden.”

He added: “For better or worse, you’re gonna hear a lot more lead guitar from me — stuff I haven’t done in a long time. I went crazy, like with Chris Cornell and Temple Of The Dog on ‘Reach Down’ [1991] all those years ago. I got to do it again. Usually the first or second takes are best. After that I start thinking about it and it doesn’t have the feel. But Andrew caught the lightning in a bottle, as they say.“

While Pearl Jam are yet to announce details of a tour to support the forthcoming release, they are scheduled to visit Europe in July to headline Madrid’s Mad Cool Festival and Lisbon’s Nos Alive.