We've made no secret throughout the countdown that we've been disappointed with Pearl Jam's output in 2018, so we're going to celebrate the one full album that came out of the band in 2018, Jeff Ament's Heaven/Hell.
Emblazoned with Jeff's own artwork, previous pieces of which he auctioned off this year for charity, the album is full of the kind of hard, experimental, grinding rock that we've come to expect when Jeff heads into his Montana studio.
His first single, Safe in the Car, featured vocals from Angel Olsen, which soften up his own harsh, manipulated vocals, and Pearl Jam bandmates, Matt Cameron and Mike McCready. It's definitely a song that would have been worth of Pearl Jam, had Pearl Jam recorded more than one song in the past five years.
For the rest of the album, Jeff carries the piano, bass, and guitars, allowing for help only from his Three Fish/RNDM bandmate, Richard Stuverud, on drums. The result is a fun album (check out The Door and The Voices) with a few weird (Drugs) and boring spots (Are You Truing?), but definitely worth picking up from the Ten Club. After all, we don't know what the Best Pearl Jam Moments of 2019 will be. This could be the last "Pearl Jam" material for a while.
Happy New Year!