Quick Spins

Wednesday, May 3, 2006; Page C05

PEARL JAM

Pearl Jam



On Pearl Jam's self-titled eighth album, the veteran alt-rock outfit regains its sense of purpose and rediscovers the fury of "Vs." and "Vitalogy," classic efforts of a decade ago.

But not without a little self-contradiction. The opening cut, "Life Wasted," finds frontman Eddie Vedder counseling against being "one with negativity," noting that he, too, has been there but is "never going back again."

Not so fast, Eddie. Pearl Jam is well known for tilting at the twin windmills of MTV and Ticketmaster, and running afoul of conservatives thanks to in-concert antics with a George Bush mask. The new album makes clear that Vedder & Co. aren't ready to climb down from the battlements just yet.

Several songs address the war in Iraq without mentioning it by name. The roaring "World Wide Suicide" mourns a dead soldier whom, Vedder sings, "the president took for granted." "Army Reserve" finds a family worrying about a father missing too long from their lives, while "Marker in the Sand" decries two sides fighting in the name of God, although "God is nowhere to be found, conveniently."

But the anger isn't confined to Vedder's yowled vocals. The intertwining guitars of Mike McCready and Stone Gossard sputter and soar throughout, most notably on the fiery punk rocker "Comatose" and the grunge throwback "Severed Hand."

The trippy, Beatlesque "Parachutes" and ballads "Come Back" and "Inside Job" offer a softer, more soulful touch. But this is a band that's most often at its best when waxing negative and raging against the machine. "Pearl Jam" offers plenty of that and then some.

DOWNLOAD THESE: "World Wide Suicide," "Severed Hand"

-- Daniel Durchholz

thanks You've been a review machine--especially since pjvault is down for a few weeks