Lightning Bolt

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Lore & Background

The band began composing new songs in 2011, with the first recording sessions taking place in early 2012 before the musicians decided to take a break. As all band members got into side projects afterwards—Eddie Vedder started a solo tour, Matt Cameron returned to Soundgarden, Stone Gossard rejoined Brad, Jeff Ament recorded solo album While My Heart Beats and started RNDM, and Mike McCready formed Walking Papers while also taking part in a partial reunion of Mad Season—work on Lightning Bolt only resumed in March 2013. The album was preceded by a promotional campaign focusing on Pearl Jam's website and social network profiles, including two countdown clocks on the band's website. The first, revealed July 1, 2013, led to a tour announcement; the second, ending July 11, 2013, revealed the album's release date. Two singles were released: 'Mind Your Manners' on July 11, 2013, and 'Sirens' on September 18, 2013.

In Their Own Story

After completing Backspacer in 2009, Pearl Jam and producer Brendan O'Brien intended to soon repeat the experience. In 2011, amidst preparations for the documentary Pearl Jam Twenty and its accompanying tour, the band recorded some tracks with O'Brien at Los Angeles' Henson Recording Studios, with the song 'Olé' being issued as a free download. O'Brien considered that the studio helped the band get to a 'submarine mentality, and everybody going into the ship together.' The musicians returned to Henson in March 2012, recording seven songs, but decided to take a break. As guitarist Mike McCready explained, 'we had to take some time to figure out what we wanted to do.' Guitarist Stone Gossard added that despite thinking the album was nearing completion, eventually they considered the tracks 'didn’t feel strong enough for a record.' Work resumed only in March 2013 as the bandmembers regrouped with new compositions, mostly done separately in each member's home studio—though McCready at times worked along with drummer Matt Cameron—before the group reunited to finish the songs together. After six weeks of new recording sessions, the album was mixed in Seattle at Studio X.

Reader's Guide

Lightning Bolt features longer songs and a more experimental sound than Backspacer. McCready declared the aim was 'a logical extension of what Backspacer was.' Gossard added that the band being more comfortable with the composing and recording process led to 'a slight return to some of the more sort of peculiar things we did, say, between No Code and Binaural.' McCready said 'there's a Pink Floyd vibe to some of it, there's a punk rock edge to other stuff,' with the lead singles 'Mind Your Manners' and 'Sirens' being inspired by the Dead Kennedys and a concert in Roger Waters' The Wall Live, respectively. Neil Young was noted as an influence in 'Yellow Moon.' One track, 'Sleeping by Myself,' had been previously featured in Vedder's 2011 solo album Ukulele Songs; O'Brien suggested the re-recording as he thought the composition was 'a Pearl Jam song as far as I’m concerned.' Another, 'Pendulum,' was originally composed during the Backspacer sessions. While writing lyrics, Vedder tried to be less cryptic, discussing lasting relationships, bad faith ('Getaway,' 'Mind Your Manners'), the state of the world ('Infallible') and life's transience ('Pendulum'). Vedder summed up the themes as 'the same mysteries that I’ve been trying to unravel for a few decades now.' One composition about mortality, 'Future Days,' discusses the loss of Vedder's friend Dennis Flemion, who accidentally drowned in 2012. The album was well received by critics, who considered it an effective return to the band's old sound, and topped the charts in the United States, Canada, and Australia.

Did You Know?

• The song 'Sleeping by Myself' was originally featured on Eddie Vedder's 2011 solo album Ukulele Songs before being re-recorded for Lightning Bolt.
• The track 'Pendulum' was originally composed during the Backspacer sessions.
• The album's third single, 'Lightning Bolt,' was sent to mainstream rock and modern rock radio on March 4, 2014.
• Pearl Jam licensed the songs of Lightning Bolt along with 36 other tracks from their catalog to Fox Sports for the network's coverage of the 2013 World Series.
• The band promoted the album with a week-long programme of shows on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, including live performances of 'Sirens' and the title track 'Lightning Bolt.'