Normally, new albums hit stores every Tuesday. You'll occasionally see a Friday drop for a high-profile record trying to beat the leaks, but generally speaking that rule is set in stone. However, Pearl Jam's brand new album Backspacer got a rare Sunday release yesterday. But considering how long they've been together (plus the fact that they've got an exclusive distribution deal with Target stores), you can pretty much call the shots.
Backspacer (which is also available as a full-album download for play on "Rock Band") is the band's ninth album, which is always a tricky point in a veteran band's career. Many groups would have chosen to go on wild experiments (U2's disco-rock Pop and the Beatles' "White Album," both profound departures, were ninth albums), but Pearl Jam have gone back to an old school they never actually went to. They've crafted 11 songs that are tight, raw and — according to guitarist Mike McCready — "dry" sounding, and the simplification pays off.
One of the most interesting things about Backspacer is that, like many of the latter-day Pearl Jam albums, it features songs written by every member of the band (drummer Matt Cameron wrote the single "The Fixer" with McCready and Gossard, while Vedder flew solo on the loose, surf-friendly "Gonna See My Friend"). For a group with such a charismatic lead singer, it's an impressive display of democracy. But it wasn't always that way. "In the beginning, Stone and Jeff and Ed wrote everything," McCready said. "I think I got my first writing thing on the second record with 'Glorified G.' We all write a ton of songs, and the diversity of it is hopefully what makes it good and makes people want to hear it."