Pearl Jam – Gigaton

Jun20. I put this on the shelf for a while, after being a little disappointed on first listens. It did not sound like an album to wait 7 years for. I the first half rocked and then all the slow songs at the end was a strange mix. I was not impressed with the pop song, 'Dance of the Clairvoyants' either. I don't see doing what everyone else is doing as being different.
Anyway, like many later Pearl Jam albums, this probably requires repeated listens. So, how does it sound now? I really like the opener, 'Whoever Said?'. I was going to comment that it could be shorter, but it kept my interest throughout with some good change ups in the second half. 'Superblood Wolfmoon' rollicks along and is a decent rocker. Surprised 'Quick Escape' was a single; average song. 'Alright' has nice slow verses, though I can't help think that the keys are annoying during these slower moments and in the end the song does not really go anywhere.
I loved the start of 'Seven O'Clock' and then…
'Never Destination' was my favourite on first plays and still is. Nice to brighten the middle of the album with a rock song. This sounds so much better than anything around it; why did they not include more of these? And finally, some McReady brilliance. He is mostly wasted on this album.
'Take the Long Way' is a good album rock song but nothing to write home about. I love the guitars for the slow 'Buckle Up'. So soothing. This would make a good companion piece to their 'Last Kiss' cover; in content and style. The acoustic driven 'Comes Then Goes' is a very good slow song, there's nothing wrong with 'Retrograde' and I love the organs in 'River Cross', another good slow song. On their own, each of these songs would be an okay change of pace, but finishing with 4 slow, often meandering tracks makes it a dragged out affair to get to the end of the album. Not a bad album, but very few highlights either, making this the lowest ranked Pearl Jam album for me. A generous 2.5/5.