“We’ve recorded some songs…” Stone Gossard has confirmed that Pearl Jam have officially started work on the follow-up to 2020’s Gigaton.
While there was a seven-year wait for Pearl Jam's most recent record, 2020's Gigaton (following on from 2013's Lightning Bolt), it looks like the wait for their next album will be significantly shorter.
The rock titans have already started recording new music for LP number 12 with producer Andrew Watt, with guitarist and co-lyricist Stone Gossard telling Consequence Of Sound in a new interview that: “We’ve recorded some songs. We’re on our way. We’re making music.”
Of how they're tackling it, Stone added, “It’s important for us to maintain that irreverence to songwriting, in terms of like, just throwing rough vocals on, just taking stabs at stuff, trying stuff.”
It's a freeing mindset the musician addressed in an interview with Kerrang! last year, in which Stone revealed how – similar to Gigaton – he'd like to "make another record that really shocks people".
"There’s some new territory there, and I think it bodes well for whatever comes next," he reflected of the record. "I think we’re still scratching the surface in terms of what really could be significantly different sounding songs. I guess I would probably compare [what I’m thinking of] to an OK Computer/Kid A moment, thinking about Radiohead’s transformation and the journey that they went on."
When asked if that moment still lays ahead for Pearl Jam, Stone pondered: "I hope so. It’s not going to be OK Computer, obviously, but a moment where we stumble onto something that is significantly different. That prospect always intrigues me. I’d like to make another record that really shocks people – that makes them go, 'Wow, that’s unexpected!'"
Catch Pearl Jam at the following dates this year:
June
14 Amsterdam Ziggo Dome
15 Amsterdam Ziggo Dome
18 Landgraaf Pinkpop Festival
21 Berlin Waldbühne
23 Zurich Hallenstadion
25 Imola Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari
28 Frankfurt Festhalle
30 Werchter Rock Werchter
July
3 Stockholm Lollapalooza
5 Copenhagen Royal Arena
8 London BST Hyde Park
9 London BST Hyde Park
12 Budapest Arena
14 Krakow Tauron Arena
17 Paris Lollapalooza
20 Vienna Wiener Stadthalle
22 Prague O2 Arena
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