★★★★☆
Anyone who witnessed the grunge explosion of the early Nineties would probably not have predicted that Pearl Jam would not only be around 30 years later, but would thrive as one of the great rock bands. Weren’t they Seattle’s commercial also-rans to the far edgier Nirvana?
Yet here they are, sounding more engaged and vital than ever on their first album in seven years. The singer Eddie Vedder’s fraught tones deliver the central message of the album on the frantic Superblood Wolfmoon: “Don’t allow for hopelessness/ Focus on your focusness.”
There are familiar targets such as environmental destruction, Donald Trump and the rise of nativism, but the mood and words are hopeful and inspiring rather than hectoring or bitter. And the music is