As opened in 2020, Gigaton has been counted as Pearl Jam’s eleventh studio album, opening a whole new dimension for long-time grunge enthusiasts in view of the fact that it continues on the band’s long-established legacy but is also fluid and adaptable in constantly changing musical conditions. With it, one of the last remaining giants of grunge continues down its path of adaptation, constant experimentation, and innovation but still keeps the energy and rebellious spirit characteristic of the early work of Pearl Jam.
Not without the coincidences, Gigaton entered a world less calm and quiet than most: It arrived when much of the world could not be silent about uncertainty, disorder, and environmental crises—the themes that strikingly resonated within the lyrics of the album. Songs like “Who Ever Said” and “Quick Escape” are more in the realm of the Pearl Jam ethos—guitars more along the lines of grunge, decent-sized servings of lead vocals by frontman Eddie Vedder, and scathing, topical lyrics. Sonic textures throughout *Gigaton* are very unlike anything they’ve done in the past, and even snatches from cuts like “Dance of the Clairvoyants” suggest their sound is expanding in ways they’ve never attempted before. But this one, boosted on a pulsating electronic beat with new wave and funk and post-punk inflections, encapsulates how Pearl Jam evolves further than what they started out with when they spawned as grunge.
This isn’t an autobiography of the noise and chaos in the world, but also survival, longevity, and living through many great moments. One of the few grunge-era bands that did not fade away or break up, Pearl Jam remains one of the most robust voices in rock music, three-plus decades on. Here’s an album where craft is visible in every line: Vedder’s voice as impassioned and vibrant as always, buttressed by a super-strong backbone in Jeff Ament and drummer Matt Cameron.
Critics praise Gigaton to be the album most ambitious in scope of perfect introspective balance with political commentary. Tracks like “Seven O’Clock” go right into the eyes and minds of political figures, and others, like “Retrograde,” urge to be ecologically conscious. Themes in this album seem so pertinent to the complex times they come during, and that is actually one of the timeliest records by Pearl Jam.
While Gigaton more than respects Pearl Jam’s roots in the sound of grunge, it also reveals a band that is never afraid to challenge itself and to experiment. It stands as an evinced testimony to their evolution—how the bedrock of grunge can thrive in changing times.
