- Band Name: Pearl Jam
- Record Label: Monkeywrench
- Release Date: Oct 15, 2013
- Critic Score
- Most active
- Publication
- Most clicked
-
Oct 15, 201383The album still feels fresher and more relevant than the world at large might expect at this point--this classic-rock band still has at least a few classics left in it.
-
Oct 8, 201383[A] muscular and tender 10th album.
-
Oct 14, 201380What comes across is the teamwork of musicians who have been working in tandem for decades. They’re grown-ups with fewer demons and more polish, but they’re still pushing themselves.
-
Oct 14, 201380Pearl Jam’s not just still alive, it’s kicki
-
Oct 14, 201380Years on, Lightning Bolt is sure to rank among one of the high points of the group’s discography, standing as an example of their ability to burrow down and hone all of their strengths to a fever pitch.
-
Oct 14, 201380On Lightning Bolt, they've grown into that classic rock mantle, accentuating the big riffs and bigger emotions, crafting songs without a worry as to whether they're hip or not and, most importantly, enjoying the deep-rooted, nervy arena rock that is uniquely their own.
-
Oct 8, 201380The way they shift from the blues-y swagger of Let The Record Play to the percussive march of Pendulum and the R.E.M.-evoking country twang of Yellow Moon is a sure sign that they belong in the lineage of great American rock bands. [Nov 2013, p.108]
-
Oct 8, 201380The softer tracks find the group negotiating their path to maturity with confidence.
-
Oct 14, 201375Three brisk, blood-pumping rockers pick up where the band's previous album, "Backspacer," left off.... Things falter when the band's love of '70s classic rock turns musty.... Inspiration returns on the title track, which rides Matt Cameron's roller-coaster drumming and richly layered guitars and keyboards.
-
Oct 15, 201370Lightning Bolt is the sound of anger and brooding depression. In Pearl Jam terms, this is reason to be happy.
-
Oct 14, 201370There's enough flat-out enjoyable tunes on Lightning Bolt to set aside the past, at least temporarily.
-
Oct 9, 201370This set is teeming with energy despite its down moments, and demands to be played again in its entirety as soon as it ends.
-
Oct 8, 201370As powerfully new wavey as 2009's Backspacer at the start but also a testament to the band's more oddball meandering elsewhere, the commitment of Eddie Vedder's delivery brings a veracity even to some of the more ponderous ballads that can be the band's mature years default position. [Nov 2013, p.76]
-
Oct 8, 201365There’s no inherently bad songwriting here, but most of it isn’t particularly interesting, either. This ultimately becomes the chief complaint here.
-
Oct 14, 201360It's far from an implosion, far from spectacular.
-
Oct 14, 201360Not classic Pearl Jam by any stretch - let’s not get carried away here--but enough to kindle at least a little optimism for whatever comes next.
-
Oct 14, 201360Years removed from the raw emotion and desperate appetites of youth, Pearl Jam has slipped into alt-rock elder statesmanship as one would a comfortable old sweater. And as Lightning Bolt mostly attests, it's a decent look for them.
-
Oct 14, 201360For the most part it’s a good record. The first two thirds are much stronger than that last third.... On its own merit, it’s a solid three stars.... The first couple of tracks had me firmly in its corner, but then the album took a complete nosedive on the back half. [Three reviewers in one]
-
Oct 14, 201360Pearl Jam's 10th album might offer little in the way of surprises.
-
Oct 11, 201360An intriguing mix overall and further proof that Pearl Jam play by their own rules--a fact that real fans would never want to change.
-
Oct 10, 201360A few ponderous moments aside, this is a sturdy return to great form.
-
Oct 15, 201350Lightning Bolt begins with a spirited sprint before sputtering out and winding up in dullsville.
-
Oct 15, 201340Essentially, the cruise control is running onward with disregard for all the maintenance and repairs that an engine needs, and the result is the worst album of their career.
-
Oct 14, 201340There’s something very ‘mopey American teenager’ about Lightning Bolt.
User score distribution:
-
Positive: 8 out of 9
-
Mixed: 0 out of 9
-
Negative: 1 out of 9
-
Oct 15, 201310
-
Oct 15, 20131
-
Oct 15, 201310