# Dark Matter (Pearl Jam album)
**Dark Matter** is the twelfth studio album by the American rock band [Pearl Jam](https://www.edgepedia.org/pearl-jam), released on April 19, 2024, through Monkeywrench Records and [Republic Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/republic-records). Produced by Andrew Watt, it is the band's first studio album since *Gigaton* (2020) and was written and recorded largely in a burst of about three weeks.[1](https://pearljam.com/news/new-album-dark-matter-out-april-19-2024)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | April 19, 2024; Monkeywrench Records/Republic Records[1](https://pearljam.com/news/new-album-dark-matter-out-april-19-2024) |
| Position in catalog | Twelfth studio album; first since *Gigaton* (2020)[1](https://pearljam.com/news/new-album-dark-matter-out-april-19-2024) |
| Producer | Andrew Watt, who also shares songwriting credits[1](https://pearljam.com/news/new-album-dark-matter-out-april-19-2024) • [2](https://www.spinmagazine.com/2024/04/andrew-watt-pearl-jam-interview/) |
| Length and tracks | 11 tracks, 48:19[3](https://www.allmusic.com/album/dark-matter-mw0004218181) |
| Lead single | "Dark Matter," released February 13, 2024[4](https://pearljam.com/music/song/dark-matter) |
| Critical reception | Metascore of 81 on Metacritic, based on 17 critic reviews (16 positive, 1 mixed)[5](https://www.metacritic.com/music/dark-matter/pearl-jam/critic-reviews) |
## Background and recording
Pearl Jam announced the album on February 12, 2024, describing it as its twelfth studio record and first release since *Gigaton*. In 2023 the band retreated to Shangri-La Studios in Malibu, where, under Watt's supervision, they plugged in and played; the band stated that writing and recording in a burst of inspiration produced the album in just three weeks.[1](https://pearljam.com/news/new-album-dark-matter-out-april-19-2024)
**Two sessions.** The project actually began earlier, at Watt's Los Angeles home studio, where [Eddie Vedder](https://www.edgepedia.org/eddie-vedder) encouraged his bandmates to come down and play without bringing gear or prewritten material; four or five songs took shape in the first eight or nine days.[2](https://www.spinmagazine.com/2024/04/andrew-watt-pearl-jam-interview/) • [6](https://www.documentarytube.com/blog/pearl-jams-dark-matter-how-andrew-watt-shaped-the-album-in-the-studio/) Watt's basement studio was then ruined by heavy Los Angeles rain, and his mentor [Rick Rubin](https://www.edgepedia.org/rick-rubin) cleared [Shangri-La](https://www.edgepedia.org/shangri-la) for the band at short notice. Pearl Jam reconvened there for ten days in March 2023 to write more songs and finish the record, a process completed in two total sessions, in contrast to the roughly seven-year gestation of *Gigaton*.[2](https://www.spinmagazine.com/2024/04/andrew-watt-pearl-jam-interview/) The two sessions fell about 18 months apart because of the band's touring and Watt's schedule; he moved to *Dark Matter* two days after finishing work on the Rolling Stones' *Hackney Diamonds*.[7](https://www.musicradar.com/news/a-guy-named-alexander-dumble-made-the-amps-andrew-watt-reveals-the-gear-behind-pearl-jams-new-album)
Every song was written by every member of the band, each starting with a riff and passing through the filter of the whole group, with Watt deliberately avoiding the older habit of members arriving with fully demoed arrangements. Watt, who had a guitar on during the writing sessions, became the first non-member ever to share songwriting credits on a Pearl Jam album.[2](https://www.spinmagazine.com/2024/04/andrew-watt-pearl-jam-interview/)
## Songs
The album runs 11 tracks in 48:19, opening with "Scared of Fear" and "React, Respond" and closing with "Setting Sun."[3](https://www.allmusic.com/album/dark-matter-mw0004218181) The title track's main riff was written by bassist [Jeff Ament](https://www.edgepedia.org/jeff-ament) on a 12-string guitar, an instrument Watt encouraged him to use; guitarist [Mike McCready](https://www.edgepedia.org/mike-mccready) wrote the song's bridge on the spot during a take.[2](https://www.spinmagazine.com/2024/04/andrew-watt-pearl-jam-interview/) "Wreckage" came together at Shangri-La from a riff with the band formulating sections together.[2](https://www.spinmagazine.com/2024/04/andrew-watt-pearl-jam-interview/)
**"Waiting for Stevie."** The song takes its title from an incident in which Vedder and Watt waited hours for [Stevie Wonder](https://www.edgepedia.org/stevie-wonder) to arrive at Watt's studio to record a part for Vedder's 2022 solo album *Earthling*; the lyrics themselves concern depression and self-doubt rather than Wonder.[2](https://www.spinmagazine.com/2024/04/andrew-watt-pearl-jam-interview/) • [8](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/pearl-jam-dark-matter/) AllMusic's review calls it a song that summons the band's "inherent sense of majestic melodrama."[3](https://www.allmusic.com/album/dark-matter-mw0004218181)
The title track's lyrics address press suppression and unaccountable power, with lines such as "Arrested the press / No one knows what happened next."
## Sound and production
Watt's approach emphasized the band playing live in one room. Guitarists [Stone Gossard](https://www.edgepedia.org/stone-gossard) and Mike McCready brought no guitar gear to the studio, using Watt's collection instead: McCready played old Stratocasters and a 1959 [Les Paul](https://www.edgepedia.org/les-paul), Gossard was plugged into a Les Paul and a Strat, and Ament played through a Fender Bassman. Watt's amps were four Dumble-modified 1950s Fender designs (a Vibrolux, a Champ, a Deluxe, and a High Powered Tweed Twin) built by Alexander Dumble, who died in 2022.[7](https://www.musicradar.com/news/a-guy-named-alexander-dumble-made-the-amps-andrew-watt-reveals-the-gear-behind-pearl-jams-new-album) • [2](https://www.spinmagazine.com/2024/04/andrew-watt-pearl-jam-interview/)
Gossard credited Watt's sonic style for the album's sound, describing a studio where the gear was already set up so the band simply walked in and played, and noting Watt's use of compression, reverb, and guitar tones.[9](https://www.grammy.com/news/pearl-jam-stone-gossard-interview-new-album-dark-matter-videos) The album was engineered by Paul Lamalfa and Marco Sonzini and mixed by Serban Ghenea, with recording at Shangri-La Studios in Malibu, GT Studios and Jump Site Studios in Seattle, and Henson Studios in Los Angeles.[10](https://pearljam.com/music/album/dark-matter)
## Artwork
The packaging features [light painting](https://www.edgepedia.org/light-painting) by Alexandr Gnezdilov. The cover was made using a large self-made kaleidoscope, with each letter of the title individually captured and handwritten midair with a specially designed flashlight to create a pearlescent effect.[1](https://pearljam.com/news/new-album-dark-matter-out-april-19-2024) Studio photography is credited to Jeff Ament, with layout design by Joe Spix, Ament, and Hal Liggett.[10](https://pearljam.com/music/album/dark-matter)
## Release and reception
The title track was released as the first single on February 13, 2024, alongside the album announcement and news of a world tour beginning May 4 in Vancouver, British Columbia.[4](https://pearljam.com/music/song/dark-matter) • [11](https://apnews.com/article/732bb298914948f1e01579a63b1a391c) Vedder introduced the album to invited guests at the [Troubadour](https://www.edgepedia.org/troubadour) club in West Hollywood on January 31, saying from the stage, "No hyperbole, I think this is our best work."[11](https://apnews.com/article/732bb298914948f1e01579a63b1a391c) A special edition was released on April 20 for [Record Store Day](https://www.edgepedia.org/record-store-day) at participating independent stores.[1](https://pearljam.com/news/new-album-dark-matter-out-april-19-2024)
**Critical response.** On Metacritic the album holds a Metascore of 81, labeled "universal acclaim," from 17 reviews, with 16 positive and 1 mixed.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/music/dark-matter/pearl-jam/critic-reviews) Kerrang! gave it 100, calling it a band "still operating at the peaks of their powers," while Pitchfork's review, at 64, judged it "another solid late-era Pearl Jam record, reliable but not revelatory," reserving particular praise for the slow-burners "Upper Hand" and "Wreckage."[5](https://www.metacritic.com/music/dark-matter/pearl-jam/critic-reviews) • [8](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/pearl-jam-dark-matter/) AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine described the album as streamlined and purposeful, replicating the sound and form of the band's 1990s heyday with a modern, punchy production.[3](https://www.allmusic.com/album/dark-matter-mw0004218181)
## References
1. [New Album "Dark Matter" Out April 19, 2024, Pearl Jam official news](https://pearljam.com/news/new-album-dark-matter-out-april-19-2024)
2. [The SPIN Interview: Pearl Jam 'Dark Matter' Producer Andrew Watt, SPIN](https://www.spinmagazine.com/2024/04/andrew-watt-pearl-jam-interview/)
3. [Pearl Jam: Dark Matter Tracks & Reviews, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/dark-matter-mw0004218181)
4. [Dark Matter (song), Pearl Jam official site](https://pearljam.com/music/song/dark-matter)
5. [Critic Reviews for Dark Matter, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/music/dark-matter/pearl-jam/critic-reviews)
6. [How Pearl Jam Made Dark Matter With Producer Andrew Watt](https://www.documentarytube.com/blog/pearl-jams-dark-matter-how-andrew-watt-shaped-the-album-in-the-studio/)
7. ["A guy named Alexander Dumble made the amps": Andrew Watt reveals the gear behind Pearl Jam's new album, MusicRadar](https://www.musicradar.com/news/a-guy-named-alexander-dumble-made-the-amps-andrew-watt-reveals-the-gear-behind-pearl-jams-new-album)
8. [Pearl Jam: Dark Matter Album Review, Pitchfork](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/pearl-jam-dark-matter/)
9. [Pearl Jam's Stone Gossard On New Album 'Dark Matter' & The Galvanizing Force Of Andrew Watt, GRAMMY.com](https://www.grammy.com/news/pearl-jam-stone-gossard-interview-new-album-dark-matter-videos)
10. [Dark Matter album credits, Pearl Jam official site](https://pearljam.com/music/album/dark-matter)
11. [Pearl Jam gives details of new album 'Dark Matter,' drops first single, announces world tour, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/732bb298914948f1e01579a63b1a391c)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Studio albums › Indie and alternative albums › Studio albums of the 2020s › Studio albums by bands › Albums by North American bands*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license