I can't deny my respect for Pearl Jam. They rock it to the top. They don't stop. Not only are they musically amazing, they're also one of the world's most famous bands and are able to exercize the political aspects that come with the territory. The only other band with that kind of political power would be the Smashing Pumpkins, and the only message they're sending is that balding men should shave their heads.

No Code comes in a neato, quadruple- gatefold package with 144 polaroids on the cover (all taken by Vedder) and 13 Polaroid replicas with lyrics scrawled on their backs. You can only imagine how expensive this must have been. And on top of all that cash, No Code doesn't seem to be doing very well on the charts. Oops.

That's probably due to the fact that each of Pearl Jam's albums are just mildly more disappointing than their predecessors. Not to say the disc doesn't have its moments. You've got the thrashing, typical Pearl Jam song, "Hail, Hail," the Bono-fied "In My Tree" and the All-American rock-out, "Habit," -- but most of the songs just drag.

The opening track, "Sometimes," a Neil Young- inspired dramafest, is boring beyond the point of sleep and the Grateful Deadly campfire singalong, "Who You Are," makes me gag with hatred. I can't remember the rest of the songs. That's 'cause there's a ton of filler here. In fact, it's almost all filler. Like those weak remix EPs they put out to tide you over until the next big release. I keep wondering when the next real Pearl Jam record is coming out, 'cause I wanna hear some good, old fashioned Tenstyle rock and roll. I guess "Hail, Hail" and "Habit" will have to do.

It's a nice listen for the long drive to the cabin, like early R.E.M. (to be used as background music only), but if you're looking for the overpowering, brooding, political hate anthems that this band has formerly been known to put out, just hope you can find it on the next record.

-Ryan Schreiber