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Dec 19, 2013The problem is that Pearl Jam at this point is just repeating itself--or others.
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Oct 14, 2013For 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]
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Oct 14, 2013Not 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.
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MagnetDec 18, 2013Lightning Bolt is only more competent than Foo Fighters, Vedder and Co.'s rival for the planet's straightest rock band. [No. 105, p.57]
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Oct 14, 2013There’s something very ‘mopey American teenager’ about Lightning Bolt.
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Oct 24, 2013Mike McCready’s guitar solos mostly take a backseat to the band’s meaty rhythm section, and, sure, some of the 12 tracks are victims of awkward construction. But Lightning Bolt resonates, especially the band’s jarring (if kind of clichéd) conclusions.
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Oct 15, 2013Essentially, 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.
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Oct 15, 2013Lightning Bolt begins with a spirited sprint before sputtering out and winding up in dullsville.
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Oct 14, 2013Years 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.
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Oct 14, 2013It's far from an implosion, far from spectacular.
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Oct 10, 2013A few ponderous moments aside, this is a sturdy return to great form.
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Oct 11, 2013An intriguing mix overall and further proof that Pearl Jam play by their own rules--a fact that real fans would never want to change.
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Oct 14, 2013Pearl Jam's 10th album might offer little in the way of surprises.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 92 out of 115
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Mixed: 18 out of 115
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Negative: 5 out of 115
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Oct 15, 2013
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Oct 15, 2013
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Oct 15, 2013