What a surprise a Boston critic loved it. PJ should just move there. Why exactly does PJ get so much love in Boston?

Pearl Jam
J Records | Critic: A-
Since it’s their first for a new label and they haven’t had a hit single in a while, Pearl Jam’s eighth studio album comes with the inevitable “return to power” and “back to basics” hype. But in this case it’s all true. Leaving behind both their late-’90s experiments and the more recent politics, “Pearl Jam” sounds designed to get them back on the radio. No big ambitions here, just riff-driven rockers and r & b-flavored ballads, all of them shorter and catchier than Pearl Jam’s norm, with sharp, live-sounding production. Fans may miss the dark edges of old, but it’s a kick to hear them turn into a bar band after all these years. Download: “Life Wasted,” “Come Back.”

Lots of white people in Boston.

yeah, they really left politics behind on this record