Mike McCready says new Pearl Jam is “a lot heavier than you’d expect”
Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready has provided more detail about the band’s upcoming album, which he claims is “heavier” than people would expect them to produce.
His new comments arrive shortly after drummer Matt Cameron confirmed the LP was “in the can” ahead of an anticipated release in 2024. McCready has also stated the upcoming record will see the light of day this year, but didn’t provide specific details or reveal a title for the highly-anticipated project.
Speaking to Classic Rock, McCready revealed of the album, which has been produced by Andrew Watt: “When we were in the studio with him this past year, he really kicked our asses, got us focused and playing, song after song. It took a long time to make Gigaton, but this new one didn’t take long. Andrew was like: ‘You guys take forever to make records. Let’s do this, right now.’”
Discussing the sonic fabric of the record, McCready added: “It’s 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. I feel like Matt Cameron’s drumming has elements of what he did in Soundgarden.”
In the same interview, McCready also shared his fears about the state of American politics ahead of the upcoming election. “Well, if Trump got elected, that’d be the worst thing in the world to me. I’d rather think about the best things that can happen,” he remarked.
McCready added: “We have to come together. We have to be compassionate. We have to take care of the environment. We have to not be racist. We have to not be idiots. There’s all these things we can do. But we have to choose to think that way.”
While Pearl Jam are yet to announce details of a tour to support the pending release, they are scheduled to visit Europe in July to headline Mad Cool Festival in Madrid and Nos Alive in Lisbon.
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