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“That line about never meeting your heroes is bulls**t”: Andrew Watt confirms he’s working on new Pearl Jam album
Dark Matter arrives 19 April, but you can listen to its title track right now.
Image: Leon Bennett / Samir Hussein / Getty Images
Grammy-winning producer Andrew Watt has confirmed his involvement in Pearl Jam’s upcoming studio album Dark Matter.
Watt, whose list of collaborators range from Ozzy Osbourne and the Rolling Stones to Miley Cyrus and Post Malone, shares about his latest project in a new Instagram post, writing: “Anyone in my life knows what Pearl Jam means to me. That line about never meeting your hero’s is a bunch of bullshit…”
“Ed, Jeff, Stone, Mike, and Matt thank you for taking a chance on a fan,” he adds. “Here we go, Dark Matter up first.” The album’s first single and title track is out now on streaming platforms. Listen below:
The Seattle rock band, whose last release was 2020’s Gigaton, are set to release their 12th studio album on 19 April. The group will also be embarking on a 35-date worldwide tour this May in support of the effort.
Of the forthcoming record, Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready has teased that the new material will be “a lot heavier than you’d expect”.
“There’s the melody and energy of the first couple of records. Andrew pushed us to play as hard and melodic and thoughtful as we’ve done in a long time,” he explained. “I feel like Matt Cameron’s drumming has elements of what he did in Soundgarden.”
“For better or worse, you’re gonna hear a lot more lead guitar from me, stuff I haven’t done in a long time. I went crazy, like with Chris Cornell and Temple Of The Dog on Reach Down [1991], all those years ago. I got to do it again. Usually the first or second takes are best. After that I start thinking about it and it doesn’t have the feel. But Andrew caught the lightning in a bottle, as they say.”
Dark Matter is now available for pre-order.
A special edition of the album – featuring light painting art by Alexandr Gnezdilov – will also be released on 20 April in select stores as part of Record Store Day.