Pearl Jam are taking their time finishing their next album, but singer Eddie Vedder is confident that it will come together in due time and will be as much of a “band” record as they’ve done.
The frontman tells Rolling Stone, “[We're] maybe halfway there. We’re taking our time. I was talking to Jeff [Ament] today. We were texting. He’s got his group up there. He’s heading to the West Coast. I’m heading east. And we’re out here like, you know, like Johnny Appleseed. He’s covering part of the country. I’m doing the other. And at some point, we’ll join forces again for sure, but the band is as healthy as ever and I’m sure it’s good to get a little break from each other … We’ll be ready to go when we’re ready to go.”

Speaking about the band health, Vedder added that they’re perhaps more of a cohesive unit than ever when it comes to releasing their music as a whole functioning outfit. He explains, “We really work together as a unit these days. It’s really the compilation of all the parts. It’s not like one guy trying to tell everybody, ‘These are my songs. This is what it should sound like.’ We’ve figured out after all these years that if everybody just puts their stamp on it, then it sounds like how we want it to. Then it sounds new, cause everyone is growing, you know. Everyone is growing after all these years.”

Until Pearl Jam regroup, Ament will continue promoting his other band, RNDM, which features singer/songwriter Joseph Arthur and drummer Richard Stuverud. Meanwhile, guitarist Stone Gossard has European shows booked with his other band Brad in February. Vedder’s solo song ‘Satellite’ can be heard on the ‘West of Memphis: Voices for Justice’ soundtrack.

-loudwire.com