Jeff Ament Says New Pearl Jam Album on the Way, But No Timetable Set

Pearl Jam are working on a new album, but still really don't have a timeline on when fans can expect it. Bassist Jeff Ament tells Guerilla Candy that even though the band has made some headway, there's still a long way to go before it's complete and there's no rush to finish it.

The bassist says, "There really are no plans right now [for 2013]. We have a few shows in South America on the calendar and that's about it. I think that's by design. I think the idea is that everybody takes the holidays off and then at some point somebody will pick up the phone, maybe late January or early February, and that will kind of start the [recording] process over again."

Ament says he's constantly asked about the next Pearl Jam record, but admits that it's hard to discuss as it hasn't taken its full form as of yet. He adds, "We still don't know exactly when we will finish it, so it's hard to talk about it. It really could be anything at this point. Even though we have seven or eight songs recorded, it's still sort of a blank slate and that's exciting."

However, the bassist says that fans shouldn't worry about the band's future. He adds, "I don't think there's any doubt we're going to make a record, but when that's going to be, and when everybody is ready to do it, well that's another story. And there's no pressure. So if at any point the guys called up and said, 'Hey, we're ready to do this,' I'd have no problem dropping everything because that's my first love. I'm going to do whatever works for everyone else."

Ament is well aware of the potential problems of taking too much time, and says he doesn't envision a Guns N' Roses situation where 'Chinese Democracy' ended up taking a decade-plus to finalize. He adds, "Every day you're going to improve as a writer and your take on things might be different. At some point you just have to let go and move on to the next thing. That's always the tricky part of being in a band. When is it good enough? When is there too much paint on the canvas and when isn't there too much paint on the canvas? That's always a tricky balance."