Pearl Jam fans have been anxiously awaiting a new collection of music from the group since the release of 2020's Gigaton, but there's been a bit of movement on that front according to the various band members.
LISTEN NOW: Kyle Meredith With... | Pearl Jam’s Jeff Ament
This week on the Kyle Meredith With... podcast, Pearl Jam founding member and bassist Jeff Ament joins the program first to talk about the debut album, Catastrophic Metamorphic, from his Deaf Charlie side project with former Fitz and the Tantrums drummer John Wicks, which just arrived today, June 30.
Of course, Jeff also set plenty of time aside to provide fans with Pearl Jam updates, specifically about the upcoming 25th anniversary of their 1998 fan-favorite Yield, and their still-in-the-works Andrew Watt-helmed album, which we learned earlier this month from guitarist Stone Gossard was "close to the finish line."
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Jeff says the band has talked a lot "in the last few years" about how they have "earned the right to do whatever the f*** we want to right now." Adding, "Why wouldn't we go all the way with that?" This includes playing in cities they have never been before, flavors and topics of songs, causes to get behind, and more. "It feels like we're sort of at this point where we should be able to turn a big corner," Jeff says. "That could be tough," he admits, "because there's five of us that are pulling the cart, so sometimes you end up pulling the cart in opposite directions. Just embracing all of that; embracing everybody's ideas, everybody's hopes and dreams, and wishes, and styles."
"I think we want to turn the corner and I think we want to access all the best parts of each other, and we want to flourish within that," he explains. "Support the best parts of each other so we consequently make the best music."
Admitting the recording of their forthcoming release is still unfinished, Jeff also says some of the hardest parts of making a record are still ahead af them, including choosing the final tracks, artwork, and album title. "Everybody wants the summer off, because last summer was a bit of a grind" he adds. "Come September we're gonna pick up those questions we have of where we're at... but I think everybody hopes we'll have a record out next year... We have stuff penciled in."
Listen to the full chat with Pearl Jam's Jeff Ament on Kyle Meredith With... -- now streaming on Audacy -- an interview series in which WFPK's Kyle Meredith speaks to a wide breadth of musicians, digging deep into the artist's work to find out how the music is made and where their journey is going.
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Pearl Jam will hit the road later this year with Irish rockers Inhaler providing opening duties in select cities. See the full list of dates and grab your tickets right HERE.
Listen to Pearl Jam Radio and more on the free Audacy app
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