Under Further Review: Pearl Jam’s No Code (1996)

By: Paul Dobry

When Pearl Jam's No Code came out in 1996 it was trampled by critics and Pearl Jam fans alike. It seemed they weren't ready yet to let go of the warm flannel embrace of early nineties grunge. While modern rock's crown prince was still being mourned, a challenger to the throne was emerging. This time with heady, lilting and sometimes even electronically tinged strains. But, if diehards thought that 1995's The Bends was a threat to the garage sound reigning the airwaves, they didn't know what Radiohead had in for them with 1997's OK Computer. The last thing they thought they needed in this awkward time of regime change was for one of their mainstays to jump ship. This climate may have been what lead to the confused and frustrated reaction to No Code. It was too polished, it was too melodic and grownup and at times tactful and subtle. What the nay sayers failed to notice was that it was also the best work Pearl Jam had ever put out. And what they couldn't know was that nine years later it would still be their best to date.

The tricky part is that those that are looking for the chunky concrete strains of Ten and Vs. era Pearl Jam won't find them in this record. And those who are looking for more of the challenging, melodic erudition of Neutral Milk Hotel's In The Aeroplane Over the Sea or Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot or Sonic Youth's Murray Street, may not think to look to a Pearl Jam record to scratch that particular itch. No Code has plenty to offer the discerning tastes today's fans of cerebral post 2000 rock, and if given a fair second look may even propel those of us clinging to our worn copies of Ten and shredded jeans, into tomorrow.