Pearl Jam Go For Ten With New Album In 2012

Among the more noteworthy releases coming our way in 2012 is the tenth studio album from Seattle rock giants Pearl Jam. After spending much of the year reflecting on their 20-year run, the rock vets aim to finish their next record by spring 2012.

You never know what you're going to get when Pearl Jam releases a new record, which is one of the things we love about the band. Whether it's an album filled with more experimental tracks like 'No Code' or 'Binaural' or straight ahead rock like 'Ten' or 'Pearl Jam,' the band has proven that they are one of the most versatile acts in rock music today. Being that their next album will make number ten -- a number that holds much significance to the band and it's fans -- we're wondering whether we will get a nostalgic PJ sound or something entirely new.

Their last album 'Backspacer' was a drastic departure from it's predecessor, with less hard driving rock and more focus on songwriting and melody -- the result was a more mature sounding Pearl Jam than we had heard before. With the release of Eddie Vedder's solo album 'Ukulele Songs' this year, our guess is that Ed is ready to put the ballads aside and bring us an all out ass-kicker next year.

Pearl Jam's manager has said that they are anxious to get the new songs out to people and bassist Jeff Ament said they were about halfway done months ago -- so if you do the math the album is about done, right? Wrong. Drummer Matt Cameron is now splitting time between PJ and Soundgarden and the band has been traveling to Los Angeles to record -- so the process is taking a little longer this time through. Last month guitarist Mike McCready gave a progress report to the Gazeta De Povo:

"In this moment we are in the process of composing an album, we have seven songs … and we’ll work on the rest of them next year in March. This, no doubt, will appease many Pearl Jam enthusiasts out there."

Pearl Jam gave fans a sneek peak at the new material when they debuted a new song recorded during the tenth album sessions called 'Olé' on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, they made it available for free download shortly after which probably means it won't make the cut. As for the name of the band's tenth record, we're expecting something symbolic of the number 'Ten' since it was the name of their landmark debut album -- maybe 'Ten 2' or 'X' (we're rooting for 'Mookie Blaylock'). With the sessions picking up in March you can most likely expect a late 2012 release.

Watch Pearl Jam Perform 'Olé' On Late Night with Jimmy Fallon