Pearl Jam have shared a new single Dark Matter and announced a tour of Australia for November 2024.
The Seattle grunge icons will make their return to Australia in November for stadium shows in Gold Coast, Sydney and Melbourne with support on each date coming from fellow rock legends The Pixies. The tour will mark the first time since headlining the final Big Day Out festival in 2014 and comes in support of their forthcoming album Dark Matter which is set for release on Friday, 19 April.
The three-show Australian Dark Matter run will kick off on Wednesday 13 November on the Gold Coast at Heritage Bank Stadium before heading to Melbourne on Saturday 16 November at Marvel Stadium and finishing up on Thursday 21 November in Sydney at Giants Stadium. Tickets for all shows will be available from Friday 23 February at 11 am. Fans wishing to attend need to register to purchase here, to be sent an access link to purchase on the on-sale date. Registrations will close on February 18.
Dark Matter is now available for pre-order now.
In 2023, the members of Pearl Jam—Eddie Vedder [vocals], Jeff Ament [bass], Stone Gossard [rhythm guitar], Mike McCready [lead guitar], and Matt Cameron [drums]—retreated to Shangri-La Studios in Malibu where they simply plugged in and played with producer Andrew Watt at the helm.
The musicians faced one another in the same space and communicated sonically at the highest level. Writing and recording in a burst of inspiration, Dark Matter was born in just three weeks.
As a result, Dark Matter channels the shared spirit of a group of lifelong creative confidants and brothers in one room playing as if their very lives depended on it. All of the blood, sweat, tears, and energy of a storied career felt renewed and poured into this one body of work.
The band members personally previewed the record with a listening party at the iconic Troubadour in West Hollywood during GRAMMY® week:
Vedder said: “I’m getting chills, because I have good memories. We’re still looking for ways to communicate. We’re at this time in our lives when you could do it or you could not do it, but we still care about putting something out there that is meaningful and we hopefully think is our best work. No hyperbole, I think this is our best work.”
Ament added, “What Ed said about getting us in a room at this point, we felt like we were about to make a really important record. A lot of that had to do with the atmosphere Andrew set up. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of our history, not only as a band and how we wrote songs but as players. He could pinpoint things we did on old songs to the point where I was like, ‘What the fuck is he talking about?’ His excitement was contagious. He’s a force. I just want to say thanks for keeping us on track. I couldn’t be prouder of us as a band. I feel so grateful for the fans, but mostly for my brothers and these people I’ve made music with.”
The band is celebrating indie record stores with the release of a special edition of Dark Matter on April 20.
Only at participating stores as part of Record Store Day. Get more information and find stores at www.recordstoreday.com
Dark Matter album packaging features light painting art by Alexandr Gnezdilov. Light painting is an artistic form of photography where images are created by adjusting a camera's exposure for an extended period and using a light source, such as a flashlight, to "paint" in the dark. The album cover art was crafted using a large self-made kaleidoscope. Each letter visible on the cover was individually captured and handwritten midair with a specially designed flashlight to create the pearlescent effect. See more info on Alexandr Gnezdilov below.
Dark Matter
1. Scared of Fear
2. React, Respond
3. Wreckage
4. Dark Matter
5. Won’t Tell
6. Upper Hand
7. Waiting for Stevie
8. Running
9. Something Special
10. Got to Give
11. Setting Sun
Pearl Jam
DARK MATTER World Tour Australia 2024
with Special Guests The Pixies
Wednesday 13 November - Heritage Bank Stadium, Gold Coast
Saturday 16 November - Marvel Stadium, Melbourne
Thursday 21 November - Giants Stadium, Sydney
blah
