The album artwork is by Alexandr Gnezdilov and consist of a type of photography called Light Painting. (Courtesy of Republic Records)

American rock band Pearl Jam, most esteemed and known for its grunge style in the early 1990s, recently released its 12th studio album, “Dark Matter,” on April 19. “Dark Matter,” “Wreckage” and “Running” were the singles that were released. It was a glimpse of what the new album entailed.

Since the album’s release, “Dark Matter” made No. 1 on numerous charts, such as U.K. Rock & Metal Albums (OCC) and U.S. Top Rock & Alternative Albums (Billboard).

The track list consists of 11 songs, with the entirety of the album being about 48 minutes and 20 seconds.

The band had its first recording sessions with record producer Andrew Watt back in February 2021. With the release of the album, Pearl Jam announced a 2024 world tour on Feb. 13 to fans from around the world.

The opener of the album, “Scared Of Fear,” starts off almost foreboding. Several seconds of build up not knowing what to expect, with the sudden change into the main melody of the guitars. The song lyrics start off with several rhetorical questions sung by Eddie Vedder.

“Oh, did I say something wrong? / Oh, did I walk out of step?”

As the song progresses with an upbeat melody, it soon switches with more perspective as Vedder begins singing as if he wants to admit a hard truth.

“Why must I be compelled to admit defeat? Oh, you’re hurting yourself, it’s plain to see / I think you’re hurting yourself just to hurt me”

As someone who grew up with many tunes by Pearl Jam, it was a different feel from many of older songs on “Ten” or “Vitalogy.” Vedder sings with emotion and intensity which makes each song, even on the new album, more emotional. His vocals only make each song better.

The second song in the track list, “React, Respond,” is my personal favorite on the album. While I was listening to this song for the very first time, I didn’t expect the powerful sound coming from the guitars. It didn’t feel like your average Pearl Jam tune but it did not disappoint either. With a driving tempo and quick lyrics, they interweb with the rhythms coming from the various riffs happening in the background.

“Don’t react, respond / Don’t react, respond / When what you get is what you don’t want”

As Vedder sings the chorus of the song, with each “Don’t react, respond,” it only gets more incanting as the bass riff contrasts with his vocals. There is a lot of drive and impulse in this song, especially throughout the first verse of the song. It is a different style, but that is what makes this song unique.

“Upper Hand” is the sixth song on the tracklist. The first minute of the song has an uplifting, powerful climax before it transitions into the first verse.

“The distance to the end / Is closer now that it’s ever been / The road we traveled far / All the lights and sights we saw”

The beginning feels like something is coming to an end. The style is much slower than “React, Respond,” with Vedder dragging the last words in each lyric. It feels almost depressing because there is that sense of hopelessness and that nothing matters. Vedder sings with dynamics, either getting quieter or louder with certain words.

“The lines, once defined, getting blurry now / And I hope the people are smiling / Oh, how I always wanted to be like one of them / Oh, I apologize, so sorry ‘bout the timing”

With these particular words, there is the narrative being painted that someone is at their lowest point and needs someone to help them back on their feet. There is the sight that other people are experiencing the world in color, smiling, while Vedder is losing sight of the color around him. As the song progresses to the resolution, the guitar riffs become faster as he starts yelling out, “Oh, help carry me home, yeah / Carry me / Carry me home.” The song ends with a sense of hope of coming back up again. It feels like this isn’t just it in life. With all the gray feelings that one might experience, there is that chance to find happiness, whether it is from support of others or maybe even looking at life in a different way. It brings into the light from darkness what a human can experience. No matter how we feel, we are still human.

Those songs stood out to me the most as a long time Pearl Jam enjoyer because of how different and unique each song is. Alongside with many bands that have released new albums, such as Foo Fighters’ most recent release of  “But Here We Are,” not all bands are going to stick with tones they had back in the ’90s through early 2000s. There was a different message back then versus the message in the present day.

“Dark Matter” is a recommencement and continuation of Pearl Jam through powerful yet profound lyrics. With songs written in the past such as “Jeremy” or “Black,” Vedder isn’t afraid to share the important message through music. The influence of current politics and the thought to remind us we are human is what makes me admire Vedder’s song writing.

Through the album, we see the darkness but the light that radiates through each song. We feel the emotion and connect our own experiences, both bad and good to the songs. The way the band portrays that message in this album is what sticks out to me as a long time listener and fan.