Pearl Jam - Backspacer

I've been working on getting the java code completion for jEdit to work better, and listening to the new Pearl Jam record while doing so. You can listen to the whole thing directly from their website, http://www.pearljam.com/, right there on the front page. I have to admit, I didn't like it on first listen. It seemed like something was missing. I can't claim to be a huge PJ fan, I don't own all their records, but I do listen to some of their older stuff fairly often. After the 3rd, or 4th, or 5th listen, I realized that all has has happened is the band got a little older and a little mellower. It's actually a very good album. The quality is excellent. The subject of the songs is just as introspective and insightful as ever, it's just not as "in your face" as previous recordings. I haven't figured out which song I like best yet. There are no clear "hits", but this is a very solid recording and well worth a listen. Or 2, or 3 or 4 or more.