Rock band Pearl Jam will release new album in April: ‘This is our best work’

Pearl Jam’s lead vocalist Eddie Vedder performs in concert in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Nov. 3, 2011. Pearl Jam’s forthcoming album shows the rockers are not mellowing with age. Vedder and other members of the band that began in Seattle in the early 1990s gave an advance listen of their 12th studio album to a select group of family, friends and industry insiders on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024, at the Troubadour club in the Los Angeles area. Vedder told the crowd the album is “our best work.” (AP Photo/Andre Penner, File)

LOS ANGELES—Pearl Jam’s forthcoming album is called “Dark Matter,” its first single of the same title has been released, and the band will start a world tour in May.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Famers revealed the new details on the project and their 2024 plans on Tuesday, Feb. 13.

“Dark Matter,” their 12th studio album and first since 2020’s “Gigaton,” will be released April 19 on Monkeywrench and Republic records. A tour is scheduled to begin May 4 in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Singer Eddie Vedder, 59, lead guitarist Mike McCready, 57, and bassist Jeff Ament, 60, played the record for the first time on Jan. 31 for invited guests at the Troubadour club in West Hollywood. “No hyperbole, I think this is our best work,” Vedder said from the stage as he introduced the album.

The band spawned from the Seattle scene of three decades ago shows no signs of softening with age on the album, which leans toward their rocking side even more than “Megaton” did, with drummer Matt Cameron’s pounding at the forefront.

The record, produced by Andrew Watt at Rick Rubin ‘s Shangri-La studio in Malibu, has been ready and awaiting release for about a year.