Pearl Jam’s New Andrew Watt-Produced Album Is “in the Can,” Says Drummer Matt Cameron

Longtime Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron has revealed some cool details about the band’s next studio album, which may see light of day as soon as next year. During a recent interview with The Vinyl Guide podcast, Cameron reported that the album, which the grunge greats have recorded with acclaimed producer Andrew Watt, is “in the can—mastered, mixed, ready to go.”

As for a possible release date for the project, Cameron noted, “I think the powers that be are trying to figure out when that’s gonna come out, and touring and all that kind of stuff.”

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Asked if the album might be released in 2024, Cameron responded, “I think so.”

The new record will be a follow-up to Pearl Jam’s 2020 album, Gigaton, the band’s 11th studio effort, which peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200.

Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready also recently talked about the group’s new album with Guitar World, praising Watt for inspiring the band members to give their all in the studio.

“He got us into a room and just pushed us as hard as we could be pushed,” McCready said in article published in September. “You know, it’s hard for a quote-unquote outsider to come into our world because we’ve done things a certain way. We’re open to new things, but we are also in our own world. We’ve done things for 30 years. So we know the dynamics of our band very well. But sometimes we need to get pushed and questioned, and Andrew did a great job of that.”

McCready also noted that Cameron was at the top of his game while making the new record.

“[He’s] playing better than I’ve ever heard him in a long time,” the guitarist maintained. “[O]f course he’s incredible and always has been. But he’s playing more like [he used to play in Soundgarden now—he’s kinda loose. Andrew pushed him to play however he wanted to play. How Matt’s playing on this record has made it amazing in my mind.”

Meanwhile, Cameron, who was Soundgarden’s original drummer, also talked with The Vinyl Guide about the status of unreleased final recordings that the band did with late frontman Chris Cornell, which have been in limbo because of a legal dispute between the group and Cornell’s estate.

Asked if he thought that the tracks might be released in 2024, Cameron said, “I don’t think so, unfortunately. We’re still in the middle of … kind of a dispute with the estate, so … everything’s on hold right now.”

He added, “I can’t really go into details, unfortunately, but as of right now, no, it doesn’t look like it’s gonna happen next year. But hopefully soon. I’m not giving up hope.”

Also during The Vinyl Guide episode, Cameron discussed his new solo EP, Gory Scorch Cretins, a five-song collection on which he collaborated with veteran grunge rockers The Melvins that was issued as a special vinyl released for the 2023 Record Store Day Black Friday event last week. Check out the full podcast at TheVinylGuide.com.

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