Today, April 17, Pearl Jam have shared “Wreckage,” the third single from the band’s highly-anticipated 12th studio album Dark Matter, which is due for release this Friday, April 19 via Monkeywrench Records/Republic Records. This latest selection diverges from the pair that came before in its brightly melodic arrangement, which layers resolute acoustic strums and sunny vocal harmonies against frontman Eddie Vedder’s honest, yet obscure account of the scattered end of a romantic entanglement. 

Contrasting the breakneck pace, chainsaw guitars and shouted chants of “Running” and title track “Dark Matter,” “Wreckage” exposes the tremendous sonic range developed by Pearl Jam in nearly 35 years of collaboration. All parties give pitch-perfect performances here, highlighted by an impeccable voicing from Vedder, who summons his wealth of experience to spin a soul-stirring, emotionally nuanced story that tugs at the heartstrings with his deeply affective vocal delivery. The whole composition comes together under the ear of producer Andrew Watt, who has garnered acclaim for his simultaneously seamless and jagged-edged work for such iconic acts as The Rolling Stones and Iggy Pop and his contributions to Vedder’s 2022 solo album Earthling.

“[“Wreckage”] started with the riff and everyone kind of formulating sections together,” Watt shares on the song’s origins. “That song just came to Ed right away. Within the first couple takes before the music was even right, his vocals were right. His melodies and words are so strong in that song. Once the initial spark was there and there were a few sections, it was just really about following him.”

“That one probably has the biggest build for me personally, in terms of hearing it at first and thinking, it’s kind of an Ed song. I wasn’t quite aware of its potency until later,” rhythm guitarist Stone Gossard adds. “Andrew [Watt] encouraged me to play this little harmonic, acoustic part almost like a Cure melody. I’ve been playing along with the song to relearn it and I’m really looking forward to playing it live. It’s a really powerful lyric and I think we did a really great job of taking something and really pushing it to its limit.”

Following the release of Dark Matter on Friday, Pearl Jam will embark on a sprawling world tour, which will bring the band to 35 stops in North America, Europe and Australia from May 4 to Nov. 21. Highlights on this run include a May 25 performance at Napa, Calif.’s BottleRock Festival, a set at Mad Cool Festival in Madrid, Spain on July 11, a pair of dates at New York’s Madison Square Garden on Sept. 3-4 and two hometown shows at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena on May 28 and 30. For tickets and more information, visit pearljam.com/tour. 

Pearl Jam’s Dark Matter is available for pre-order now. Listen to “Wreckage” below and read on for the album’s complete setlist.

Pearl Jam’s Dark Matter tracklist:
1. Scared of Fear
2. React, Respond
3. Wreckage
4. Dark Matter
5. Won’t Tell
6. Upper Hand
7. Waiting for Stevie
8. Running
9. Something Special
10. Got to Give
11. Setting Sun