Unless you're one of the hardcore faithful, Pearl Jam [ tickets ] was likely becoming the band you took for granted. Sure they reminded you how great they were when you caught them live, and you'd bob your head along to their music on the radio, but you rarely went back and listened to their albums. That may be because Pearl Jam has made a career out of straddling the line between classic and alt-rock, but they haven't reached the heights of their heroes The Who and were never as compelling and edgy as their early peers Nirvana.

"Backspacer," the band's 10th album, isn't likely to change that, but it will certainly convince you that Eddie Vedder and company shouldn't be written off just yet. As hinted in the blistering lead single, "The Fixer," PJ is back and better than ever. Instead of turning his back on his oft-accused Messiah complex, Vedder confronts it head on, offering to solve your problems with such conviction, you believe him, especially since the band rocks the stuffing out of the track.

Elsewhere, PJ seems less self-conscious, looser, and more confident and appealing than they've sounded in years. Perhaps working on the reissue of "Ten" helped them get their mojo back. In "Johnny Guitar," which begins with some Who-like powerchords, the band gets downright funky. In the slower tracks, like the beautiful "Just Breathe," it seems as if Vedder's soundtrack side project "Into The Wild" reminded him how to recapture intimacy. In all, "Backspacer" proves that there's no need to hit the delete key on Pearl Jam just yet. Rather, this band still has plenty to offer as it goes back to the future.