Early indie store Dark Matter listening party

The Rock

just_one said:

The Rock said:

Someone on the RM forum made handwritten notes for each song, go check them out. 

RM? Link please

Red Mosquito forum.

http://forums.theskyiscrape.com/index.php

foodshop65

The record is good. Some moments are better than others. I think the live will be awesome. Got a bunch of posters  and some mats. 9 people

Kwieneke

Anyone have extra goodies to share? Couldn’t make it anywhere today unless I I took a 6 hour round trip

Yamrider

Vinilo in Southampton UK. Only had tote bags, felt for the guy behind the counter trying to explain 'that's all we got sent' when several people, me included, asked about the giveaways.

When I booked the ticket last week they had a pre order for a black and gold vinyl. When asked today he says it's not the RSD and not the tricolour. I went for this but he didn't know anymore than black and gold. 
Anyone know what this is?

ISO slip mat please if anyone has spare.

Really liked Dark Matter. Good mix of songs. I agree that some small hints at older songs. Maybe just me but I couldn't help but think of In Hiding on one. Liked waiting for Stevie.

kmcmanus

BF25394 said:

SVRDhand13 said:

I’m going against the grain… love Something Special. Maybe because I have a young daughter. 

This bodes poorly for me since I don't like children...

C’mon man they’re delicious 

bobasfeet

bobasfeet said:

I am headed to one at 4pm. Can't wait!

Plan 9 - Richmond, VA

runstaples

My wife and I with members of Deep 6, Pearl Jam/Soundgarden cover band at the listening party here in Raleigh. The drummer, Steve, told me some great stories about growing up in Seattle and knowing Andy Wood, Mike and Layne. Loved the album! 

CarryTheZero

Just got back from Mojo outside of Atlanta! They had posters and slip mats for free hand out! They raffled the tote bag, the 3’ x 3’ styrofoam album board, and a giant vinyl wall stick on of the cover as well.

Album sounded amazing. Can’t wait to get my hands on it and listen again. Nothing sounded like a stinker on it (Something Special sounded better than I thought!).

First two tracks are killer rockers, particularly that outro on React/Respond! Wreckage sounded nice! 

Very cool, long Pink Floyd intro into Upperhand, then that song completely shifts gears. Liked it.

Waiting for Stevie sounds like a cross between Dissident and Breath to me. It was awesome!

Setting Sun was a great closer, starts slow, builds to anthemic sound, and then soft again.

I think I’ll really like the album. So glad I went!

bicyclejoe

I have a Dark Matter tote bag if anyone wants it. Just need to cover postage.
On first listen, I rate the album 6/10.

CarryTheZero

Also had these for free! Looks like an RSD giveaway. Haven’t read it yet, but maybe 4 pages of text with photos. An interview with Stone and Mike!

Pap

I went to A Slice of Vinyl in Gosport, UK. I was there at 10:30 (first person to appear for the party - the rest of the guys started coming around 12:30), and the party started at 14:00 (the owner told us that we were the very first to listen to the album, as the other parties were starting one or two hours later). Around 30 people attended. I got the poster, but tote bags were only given to those who pre-ordered the album in-store.

After the first listen, here are my instantly standout songs (excluding Dark Matter and Running):

1. Won't Tell (what a great song!)
2. Something Special (reminded me of Daughter)
3. Wreckage

They will grow on me after a couple more listens:

1. Setting Sun (reminded me of Indifference)
2. Got to Give
3. Upper Hand

They will eventually grow on me:

1. Scared of Fear
2. React, Respond
3. Waiting for Stevie

Off to the theatrical experience on Tuesday, and then the immersive experience on Friday! 

bobasfeet

There was a busy Sunday crowd, so the store couldn’t really crank the album. Also for the record their stereo system seemed  just OK.

Forgive me. I am not a writer. Here some brief thoughts on songs (without Dark Matter or Running)…

Scared of Fear/ React Respond - The first two rockers are solid. I can’t wait to crank them on my home stereo.

Wreckage will be a classic. Fantastic melody. You’ll / we’ll be singing along with this one quickly.

Won’t Tell. I’m pretty sure there was a moment in this song that sounded VERY similar to an old Pearl Jam song. I started writing down notes during this song, but I keep thinking back on it and I think I really dug this one. Edit: “you can find me here” is the part that sounded familiar. Trying to figure out which song.

Upper Hand. Wow. Nothing As It Seems vibes (at times)

Waiting For Stevie is not as throwback as described but still very good. The outro threw me but nice transition into Running.

Something Special is not really cringey at all. These kind of songs can be, but this is well done. 

Got To Give was good but my least favorite.
I need to hear it again. 

Setting Sun had a nice build and I see why it’s the closer.

Ed sounds great. I didn’t mind production from what I could hear on house speakers. The music was tasteful and everyone at some point had a time to shine. It’s a very mature Pearl Jam album and way better than the Earthing effort. There is something on it for everyone. As per the reviews on here comparing songs to older songs, in my opinion, I think there are moments in the new songs that sound familiar, but not necessarily whole songs. It’s really a stew of all their records and at different moments you get different flavors. I found none of those flavors offensive or heavy on nostalgia.

Overall, I loved the album. I do think it will be a grower for some people, in the best way. I can’t wait to hear it in the theater on Tuesday and spin, spin it on Friday. 🤞🏻

Kwieneke

bicyclejoe said:

I have a Dark Matter tote bag if anyone wants it. Just need to cover postage.
On first listen, I rate the album 6/10.

Taken?

AnimalCh1n

Count me in on people looking for a slipmat. Happy to cover costs for shipping +.

Ten Backspaced Riot Actors

Just got back from listening party.  “Wreckage” needs to be on the radio, loved it.  I loved track 1.  Intro sounds like Aha Heartbreak Kings of Leon,  which is a good thing.  Overall, overwhelming trying to figure out an album on first listen.  The band and especially Eddie sound great! Really displays his true singing ability.  

I think this album is gonna be a grower in a good way.  

Setting sun was great, love the “if you could see what I see, you would do anything to stay” line or something along those lines.

Edited:  hard to compare this to prior albums.   The band sound so fresh.  A little poppy- like some moments of U2, Coldplay, Soundgarden, Tom Petty, with the badass Pearl Jam sheen.  I like it a lot.  If there are more records in the future I like this direction

MikeDigs

Based on the latest reviews and feedback from the listening parties, it seems to be the concensus that Wreckage is a beautiful gem of a track, and Got to Give might be the weakest/filler track but still a decent song.  I'm really excited to dive in to this album with headphones and enjoy.   Seems like there's many layers to this album that will reveal themselves on repeat listens.

Ten Backspaced Riot Actors

And Won’t Tell is another radio song if they want.  It’s a monster, I think

deb1211

I really love the album. I thought React, Respond was great and Won't Tell really made an impact. I kept thinking what is this song..it's fantastic. I didn't have the track list so wasn't always sure which song was on but i loved hearing Eds voice soar on some of the songs and also felt we got some build up songs with endings that will be amazing live with room for extended jamming. I love the variety on this album. Of course I already love Dark Matter and Running and think I was the only one who knew most of those lyrics in this small town.

I kept thinking if I feel good about these songs already, I'm gonna really love them after I get to listen more. 

I got there early and got to hear Give Way while waiting. I was first haha..well there was merch I had to have. I'm trained to show up early. The shop owner was sweet. She raffled my dark matter bracelets and kept saying a superfan made them. She even gave me a patch and this guy who won the tote gave it to me.

Oh and a piece of Wreckage is already stuck in my head

djjazzy276

Just got back from The Record Pub in Portland. Such a fun event and great to chat with fellow fans. So much chatting in fact that it was hard to hear the album, but from what I could make out, I found it to be pretty solid top to bottom. Something Special definitely sticks out like a sore thumb, but not necessarily in a bad way. Can’t wait to have this in my hands and listen with my good headphones. We got the poster and slipmat, then my wife won the last tote bag as well! So cool that this happened.

Jules10

bicyclejoe said:

I have a Dark Matter tote bag if anyone wants it. Just need to cover postage.
On first listen, I rate the album 6/10.

Interested!

bobasfeet

Would love a patch if anyone got an extra.

PJammin'

Loved the album on first listen. Can’t wait for the theatrical experience in Dolby. Thanks to everyone that made the listening party happen. It was a great day. This album is going to be awesome live. 

Vedd Hedd

I really liked the album, front to back.
Before I heard them, I was uneasy about Wreckage and Something Special, and they are WAY better than the 30 second clips we got. Both very good songs.

That said, the stand outs to me were Scared of Fear, React/Respond, Waiting for Stevie, and Got to Give.

Honestly, I was having trouble finding a weak link. The weak link might be putting Wreckage 3rd instead of 4th, but I really enjoyed all of the songs.

Vedd Hedd

Yamrider said:

Vinilo in Southampton UK. Only had tote bags, felt for the guy behind the counter trying to explain 'that's all we got sent' when several people, me included, asked about the giveaways.

When I booked the ticket last week they had a pre order for a black and gold vinyl. When asked today he says it's not the RSD and not the tricolour. I went for this but he didn't know anymore than black and gold. 
Anyone know what this is?

ISO slip mat please if anyone has spare.

Really liked Dark Matter. Good mix of songs. I agree that some small hints at older songs. Maybe just me but I couldn't help but think of In Hiding on one. Liked waiting for Stevie.

Now that you mention it, yeah, I remember thinking the same thing about In Hiding. 

jimjam1982

Pretty busy at my record store. Can't really review song by song due to a lot of shoppers but sounds pretty good. I would say it's very good to excellent. Setting Sun was great closer

spankyMP

I am admittedly a fanboy and generally like/love everything they do. This is much stronger than Gigaton, which I loved at first and still like, but it definitely cooled off for me.

I didn’t hear wreckage in full, but like the two snippets I’ve heard so far. I love waiting for Stevie, won’t tell, and got to give. Waiting for Stevie has some In hiding to it, which is one of my favorites. I feel like got to give is the kind of song they should be cranking out regularly.

Scared of Fear and react respond are great rockers. Upper hand and setting sun are very good, with some great spots.

Something special, while still very corny, is better than the previously released clip lets on.

So, my opinion definitely leans toward favorable as a default because I am just happy that they are still at it. Way too early to tell where it will settle for me, but very pleased with it and I think there are a few songs that will become set list staples/regulars. It just feels like the quality of album that they should be able to put out on a consistent basis.

Ten Backspaced Riot Actors

Ya’ll this album blows Gigaton, Backspacer, Riot Act, Avacado, Lightening Bolt out of the water!  And I like those albums. Won’t go near the first 5 yet.  Need more listens. I get why Ed said this is the best they have ever done.  It’s like grown up PJ, firing on all cylinders.

AlaG

My first impression is that I don't have much more affinity for it than I did for Lightning Bolt or Gigaton on first listen. And to be clear, I like those albums. But this record is going to hit different with a lot of people. If you showed someone that hasn't listened to the band since the 90s or early 2000s Lightning Bolt I think they'd be like - hmm, this is interesting. But it's not what they'd expect a middle aged Pearl Jam to sound like. This record on the other hand is exactly what someone who grew up on their music, who had not listened to them for awhile, would expect them to sound like right now.

Wreckage thru Running was really fantastic to my ears. Especially liked Won't Tell and Upper Hand. The front and back of the album were a bit less memorable to me but I frankly just need to hear it more times. It all sounded like stuff I'd like whereas there are some absolute duds on the previous few albums.

TN49724

Upper Hand has some Yellow Ledbetter vibes throughout 

kmcmanus

TN49724 said:

Upper Hand has some Yellow Ledbetter vibes throughout 

Also some Pink Floyd vibes… at my store it was drawing comparisons to Nothing as it Seems