Riot Act

Shamefully, these sometimes justified prejudices tend to cloud any sensible overall critical judgement of Pearl Jam, namely that they've made some of the bravest, brawniest and self-indulgently insular amp-cranking rock of our times. And Riot Act is no exception. Indeed, the untamed fury of "Save You" and the militant green politics of "Cropduster" are tailor-made for mosh-pit mayhem while the spoken-word agitprop of "Bushleaguer" pursues the bands' experimental curve with aplomb. The best tune is undeniably the single "I Am Mine", a creepy distant melodious-cousin of "House of the Rising Sun", while the silliest--in a whisky-sodden "Jim Morrison is really a poet" kind of way--is obviously "Love Boat Captain". And despite containing the most insufferable moment of lyrical nonsense of recent times--"It's an art to live with pain" (choose your own response from either (a) "Brother, we feel your suffering" or (b) "Oh do shut up you silly old goose and take an aspirin")--Riot Act is mostly infuriatingly superior rock music made by people who want to save the world, not torch it. --Kevin Maidment