Pearl Jam
Binaural

THE REVIEW

"Binaural": sound recording method aimed at optimizing headphone listening, reproducing as faithfully as possible the perceptions of a listener situated in the original environment.

Sometimes we all seek a warm haven, a station in the soul where the train of our lives continues its journey on tracks of hope. Because living amidst the rogue waves of a storm is a bad joke, an arbitrary fate at the Russian roulette of the "dices of god." We are victims and architects of an imponderable fate, like small boats in the ocean navigating in search of the safe harbor. "Binaural" by Pearl Jam is the distant gaze in the astral nebula of the cover, cold and impartial on human miseries. A corollary to man's odyssey on earth, who nullifies himself in the futility of wars, kills and annihilates others out of greed and selfishness, denies the past to lie in the present. Wealth, power, control in a false and abused mirror, distortion that reproduces a grotesque, alienated world where nothing is as it truly seems. Light years away from the truth, a global village soaked in cynical lies and desolate landscapes.

Produced by Tchad Blake, with the stable entry of former Soundgarden Matt Cameron on drums, "Binaural" will be released in May 2000, revealing itself as the most reflective and twilight album of the five knights of Seattle. Some evident references to certain late-Pink Floyd psychedelia, from Mike McCready's mesmerizing solo in the evocative single "Nothing As It Seems," to the sudden heartstrings of the sharp stop-and-go of Gossard-McCready drum and guitar interplay in the emotional "Insignificance." One of Eddie Vedder's best vocal performances on record, who in the thirteen tracks of this work literally invades the air around the listener with an angry, melancholic, tenacious, and never resigned timbre. An extraordinary warmth, Eddie's voice ascends and captivates in the eternal farewell to a departed friend (the poignant ballad "Light Years").

The initial triptych composed of "Breakerfall" ("Only love can prevent the end"), "God's Dice," and the neurotic tempo changes in "Evacuation" demonstrate once again, if ever there was a need, how Pearl Jam are a joyful, fast, and well-oiled rock and roll machine. The atmosphere often softens exasperated and harsh tones: in the sentimentality of the soft folk melody of "Thin Air," enhanced by Jeff Ament's pulsing bass, in the interlaces of the dreamy blues "Of The Girl" and the existence deviated by the skillful hand of the psychedelic ballad "Sleight Of Hand." Politics and the bloody events of the WTO in Seattle burst into the words of "Grievance" ("Great man, great eyes watching me. I must imagine what they see. Progress fastened with ramifications. Freedom was punched. Push the innocent from a crowd, raise the sticks and bring them down if they don't obey."), "Rival" is a drunken chant supported by the dirty hard-bluesy guitar interplays. And while in "Soon Forget," a short tale with Vedder on the ukulele, "..the sun is setting.." on the sad days of a man soon to be forgotten, sacrificed at the superficial cult of the god of money, the solemn finale of the splendid "Parting Ways" marks the definitive separation of two drifting lovers, aware that their paths will divide, that their future will "burn" as they drift apart forever. End of the games, a melancholy goodbye amidst the strings and drums of a secular prayer.

"Binaural" remains the last incisive and noteworthy work by Pearl Jam, after the glories of "Ten," "Vs," "Vitalogy," and "No Code"; an underrated title that encompasses the mercurial and dark side of their music. Immediately after will come the tragedy of Roskilde, damned and malignant guilt. But the survivors of the flannel shirts of the Nineties will manage to get back on their feet with strength and broad shoulders, riding the impetuous wave of these years with pride and sincere spirit. Despite everything, the PJ train continues to travel on infinite tracks.

"Your lights now reflected, reflected from afar. We were but stones. Your lights made us stars. With heavy breath, awakened regrets. Old pages and days that could have been shared, but we were miles apart. Every meter between us now turns into light years.."