Pearl Jam Tries On New Musical Styles

“No Code” Pearl Jam (Epic)

Pearl Jam fans are dying for another “Ten.”

The Seattle band has racked up three albums’ worth of songs, and people are still dialing in their requests for the angst-rock hits “Alive,” “Even Flow,” “Jeremy” and “Once.”

But the band hasn’t written songs like those in five years. Since “Ten,” Pearl Jam has been very forthright in their music that they will not produce another album like their debut again.

They make that immensely clear on “No Code,” their fourth album which was released Tuesday on Epic.

“No Code” finds the band in the never-ending process of re-inventing itself and trying on new ideas the rock group can grow into. Thus, Pearl Jam has outgrown grunge, leaving Bush, Seven Mary Three and Silverchair fighting for their hand-me-downs.

But the five members aren’t shopping around for new unchartered sounds. They’ve gone to the thrift store, picked out some wellworn styles and tried them on. Some fit as snug as an old pair of jeans. Some irritate the skin like a pair of polyester golf pants. But most of what they try on fits comfortably, even if “No Code” is a jagged, often schizophrenic album.

Oddly enough, the songs that don’t fit are two punk-driven blasts, “Lukin” and “Habit.” The highvelocity “Lukin,” which clocks in just shy of a minute, might have worked better had the vocals been buried deeper in the mix. “Habit” also needs some refining as the main riff sounds unfinished.

Some of the musical varieties Pearl Jam dons come from the closets of other musicians. Two names to keep in mind while you’re dissecting this record are Neil Young and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

Pearl Jam backed Neil Young on his 1995 “Mirror Ball” album. And Young played lead guitar on the two-song Pearl Jam single “Merkin Ball.” Also, Eddie Vedder collaborated with Pakistani Qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan on the “Dead Man Walking” soundtrack.

Naturally, the band is going to take what they’ve absorbed from their mentors and apply that knowledge to their own songs. For the most part, Pearl Jam comes off sounding authentic.

“Who You Are,” with its worldly rhythms and beats, is definitely derived from Khan. The song, “No Code’s” lead single, is Pearl Jam’s first crack at world music and it’s a valiant effort. Even if “Who You Are” could benefit from more exotic arrangements like a harmonium, it’s still a spiritually uplifting tune from a band that has made millions by being angry.

“In My Tree” and “Around the Bend” are also adorned with worldly textures.

A tribal beat drives the erratic “In My Tree,” the album’s most explosive number. It’s a song about being lonely at the top. Vedder, a reluctant star, realizes his status has alienated those close to him. He sings: “Up here in my tree … / I’m trading stories with the leaves instead/ Wave to all my friends/ they don’t seem to notice me.”

Pearl Jam isn’t subtle about Young’s influence, borrowing loosely from many of his signatures. They propel the crispy “Smile” with a jagged Young riff. In addition, the song’s harmonica solos closely echo Young’s as if old Neil sat in with the band.

The voice, not the vocals, of the bittersweet acoustic “Off He Goes” also sounds like it came from Young’s songbook. Maybe it’s because the tune is reminiscent of his acoustic-driven “Unknown Legend.”

Even so, “Off He Goes” teems with brilliance, inducing many a goose bump. The song, written by Vedder, is about a close friend who is always on the go and of whom he’s worried about. Really, the song is about Vedder, who sings: “I wonder ‘bout his insides/ it’s like his thoughts are too big for his size/ he’s been taken/ where I don’t know/ off he goes with his perfectly unkept hope/ there he goes.”

“Red Mosquito” is a cleverly written, folk-inflected hard rocker that talks about the evils of selling out in a serious but light-hearted way. “I was bitten/ must have been the devil/ he was just paying me/ a little visit/ reminding me of his presence.”

In “Present Tense,” Vedder states: “makes more sense/ to live in the present tense.” He sings about people absorbed by their past mistakes and other people consumed by looking too far off into the future, offering this advice: it’s best to live life on a day-by-day basis.

As the song unfolds, the music builds, and the band - guitarist Stone Gossard, drummer Jack Irons, guitarist Mike McReady and bassist Jeff Ament - engages in a bang-up improvisational jam.

Overall, this ambitious new album is quite good. Some critics have remarked that the band lacks the musicianship to support Vedder’s vision on “No Code.” With a few exceptions, I disagree. Pearl Jam does have the chops, but they’re not striving for a lush sound. The bulk of the music is spiny and raw, but it’s enough to get the job done. Plus, it compliments Vedder’s emotive and pleasantly burning vocals.

Where on past albums the band seemed to be self-absorbed, Pearl Jam is now looking outward. The songs are still earnest, but the band has found a glimmer of hope, whether it’s by examining the need for relationships (“Hail, Hail”), striving for a spiritual plateau (“Who You Are”) or amending the past (“Present Tense”).

“No Code” closes with “Around the Bend,” the album’s most hopeful number. It’s about the peace that comes with sleep. It’s about renewal, and it’s a perfect note to end on. The lyric “There’s a sun around the bend” chimes even after the needle retracts from the album.

“No Code” is not a “Ten” but weighed next to the Pearl Jam’s previous releases, it’s a 10.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 photos (1 color)