Pearl Jam
by Pearl Jam
Metascore
74

Generally favorable reviews - based on 28 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 22 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 28
  3. Negative: 0 out of 28
  1. AllMusic
    90
    Pearl Jam hasn't sounded as alive or engaging as they do here since at least Vitalogy, if not longer.
  2. Billboard
    90
    Pearl Jam is fully, comprehensively re-energized.
  3. PopMatters
    90
    Pearl Jam is another straight-up collection of raw, blistered rock and moody mid-tempo balladry. The difference here, and the reason for excitement, is that the self-titled record more consistently achieves the grandeur, rage, and beauty they’ve always pursued, throughout its entirety.
  5. Prefix Magazine
    90
    Strikes with a magnificent urgency.
  6. Entertainment Weekly
    83
    The seriously hopped-up effort fans have been pining for since Vitalogy.
  7. The A.V. Club
    83
    The band gladly sacrifices fluidity for drama, and even catchy Pearl Jam tracks like "World Wide Suicide" (with its winding hook and acid lyrics) and "Parachutes" (with its charmingly odd acoustic bounce) periodically wander into the murk.
  8. Rolling Stone
    80
    As immediate and despairing as breaking news from Baghdad... Pearl Jam is also as big and brash in fuzz and backbone as Led Zeppelin's Presence. [4 May 2006, p.55]
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  9. Amazon.com
    80
    The band socks away the adventurous experimentation that dogged some of its most recent records to investigate a post-September 11, war-ravaged world overflowing with urgency and significance.
  10. The New York Times
    80
    Now as ever, Pearl Jam takes itself seriously. But it delivers that seriousness not with the sodden self-importance of rock superstardom, but with the craft and hunger of a band still proving itself on the spot. [1 May 2006]
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  11. cokemachineglow
    80
    And while it most certainly does fill this grunge kid with nostalgia for a simpler time, it’s the first latter day Pearl Jam album that is plenty good enough to stand on its own.
  12. Dot Music
    80
    Unfashionable as they probably are, Pearl Jam have gone some way to regaining both their fire and their relevance with this, a record that takes equally from classic Neil Young stylings as it does raging, polemic punk.
  13. Paste Magazine
    80
    Concise, focused and even, it’s a great addition to the band’s increasingly rich catalog.
  14. ShakingThrough.net
    76
    It's a pleasant surprise for those who feared that the group's glory days were long gone.
  15. Los Angeles Times
    75
    The music is leaner and more concise than we're used to from Pearl Jam, the performances brisk, frisky and light on their feet. [30 Apr 2006]
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  16. E! Online
    75
    Songs like "World Wide Suicide" and "Severed Head" even come close to recreating the hard rock thrills of the band's billion-selling debut, Ten.
  17. Stylus Magazine
    75
    Song-for-song, they haven’t made an album this misstep-free since Vs.
  18. Slant Magazine
    70
    It's got all the elements of a great album, but it doesn't evoke the feeling of listening to the band's first three seminal albums.
  19. Playlouder
    70
    This is Pearl Jam, it's down to you whether that means anything or not.
  20. Uncut
    70
    If their songs occasionally resemble the power ballads that grunge supposedly outmoded, that's the price of being a truly potent classic rock band. [Jun 2006, p.109]
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  21. Spin
    70
    They seem to be having fun. [Jun 2006, p.79]
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  22. Mojo
    70
    Pearl Jam sound reborn, vital. [Jul 2006, p.112]
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  23. Austin Chronicle
    67
    The middle gets muddy, as they return to their weaker late-Nineties fare (read: "ballads"), but it's a strong album overall.

Awards & Rankings

11
#11 Most Discussed Album of 2006
11
#11 Most Shared Album of 2006

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.7

Universal acclaim- based on 325 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 290 out of 325
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 325
  3. Negative: 18 out of 325
  1. JohnnyL.
    May 28, 2007
    10
    This album really shows how Pearl Jam has grown up and advanced musically as well as lyrically. At the same time they brought back some of This album really shows how Pearl Jam has grown up and advanced musically as well as lyrically. At the same time they brought back some of the old all-out-rock attitude on a majority of the songs. Genius, simply genius!!… Full Review »
  2. Filippos1987
    Nov 6, 2022
    8
    Easily their most divisive record, this features both some of their better rockers of their latter years and also some of their mostEasily their most divisive record, this features both some of their better rockers of their latter years and also some of their most profoundly confusing material. The peaks are incredibly high for a band that resolutely refuses to just make by-the-numbers material - well, for the most part. A greater focus on conciseness and brevity would have enhanced this record, which is nevertheless a success and responsible for pulling them out of the doldrums of their early aughts.… Full Review »
  3. Ragnamaxima
    May 25, 2016
    9
    sometimes referred to as "the avocado album", this one is fantastic, with incredibly entertaining songs but they also have a deep meaning insometimes referred to as "the avocado album", this one is fantastic, with incredibly entertaining songs but they also have a deep meaning in their letters, including themes such as depression, anger and melancholy, quite dark indeed. But whether you listen it casually or deeply this is a classic.… Full Review »
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