“Wreckage” by Pearl Jam

"Wreckage" is the heartland-rock heart of Dark Matter, Pearl Jam's twelfth studio album, and the third single the band pulled from it in 2024. It took shape at Rick Rubin's Shangri-La studio in California with Eddie Vedder and producer Andrew Watt steering, and Watt talked Stone Gossard into a small, chiming acoustic figure that the guitarist likened to a Cure melody. Josh Klinghoffer adds keys and piano, Jeff Ament brings baritone guitar alongside his bass, and Matt Cameron keeps it rolling.

Spin heard Tom Petty in the sound, and Rolling Stone heard Springsteen in Vedder's singing. The words, Vedder has said, are about the desperation of Donald Trump, a former president still refusing to admit he lost an election. It went all the way to number one on Billboard's Mainstream Rock and Adult Alternative Airplay charts.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.