The Seattle grunge movement was one of the biggest genre shifts in music. While many maintain that the upper echelons of grunge include Nirvana, and that’s certainly true, Pearl Jam stand out Record Weekly’s favourite. 

A brief blurb

Fronted by Eddie Vedder, Pearl Jam emerged in Seattle in 1990. Their hard alt-rock blueprint pushed them forward as one of the most advanced grunge acts of the time. The rough-and-ready sound was cultivated over the years and they released one of the most pioneering rock albums from the last few decades, ‘Ten’, in 1991. Every single track on the album is raw yet polished to a pristine finish — and that’s no mean feat.

The piercing vocals of ’Alive’ contrast to the soft, sobering harmonies of ‘Release’. You can almost feel the palpable emotion that rips through each of their tracks. Muted riffs transcend into scuzzy effects, with solid rock and roll drumming underpinning Pearl Jam’s offering, every step of the way. They’re absolute legends in the business and their more recent releases still promise unadulterated grunge firepower. 

Top tracks

Here’s an amuse-bouche to get you acquainted:

► ‘Once’

► ‘Alive’

► ‘Even Flow’

► ‘Jeremy’

► ‘Release’