Fans anxiously awaiting the follow-up to Pearl Jam’s 2010 album ‘Backspacer’ will have to wait a little longer. Guitarist Mike McCready tells Spin.com that although there were reports the band was spending time together in the studio, they are currently in a ‘holding pattern.’

“We’re just kind of sitting around, writing songs,” he says. “We have about seven ideas so far that we did last year and we’re just kind of sitting on those right now.” Vocalist Eddie Vedder is preparing for a solo tour, and drummer Matt Cameron is working with Soundgarden, so the members have a lot on their plates.

McCready is keeping busy as well. He wrote the score for the movie ‘Fat Kid Rules The World,’ which was directed by Matthew Lillard, known for his acting roles in movies such as ‘Scream’ and the ‘Scooby-Doo’ series.

This was McCready’s first experience scoring a feature film, although he has composed music for TV shows such as ‘Hawaii Five-O’ and ‘Fringe’. “It’s a different muscle,” McCready tells Spin. “What’s most important is what’s on the screen, what [Matthew] wants, what the actors are saying. The music is secondary, which is kind of interesting because that’s been first in my life forever.”

The supergroup Walking Papers also recruited McCready to record some guitar solos for their upcoming debut album that’s due in October.  The band also includes Jeff Angell and Barrett Martin of Mad Season and Screaming Trees along with ex-Guns N’ Roses and Velvet Revolver bassist Duff McKagan.

-loudwire.com