Pearl Jam Confirm New Album

Does it get Eddie Vedder than this? Everybody's favorite onetime-San Diegan and his Pearl Jam bandmates are ramping up for a big 2018: On March 12, the 2017 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees released a brand new single called "Can't Deny Me" -- and officially confirmed a long-awaited studio album follow-up to 2013's "Lightning Bolt" record.

The new track marks the iconic rock group's first track of original material since their 10th album dropped five years ago (we were starting to worry that they were approaching Tool territory with the excruciating and extended wait between records but it's all good). Earlier this month, Vedder made headlines by performing a somber, rousing rendition of Tom Petty's "Room at the Top" at the 90th annual Academy Awards for its In Memoriam segment. And last year, we reported on the band's live-concert documentary "Let's Play Two," which chronicled their performances at Wrigley Field (Vedder's a life-long Cubs fan).

Members of Pearl Jam's official Ten Club fan club got the first look at "Can't Deny Me" but it has since now dropped on all major streaming platforms. A listing of the song on the band's website says: "Pearl Jam's new track from their forthcoming album on Monkeywrench/Republic Records is out now!" The new track finds the band reuniting with long-time producer Brendan O'Brien for a fiery protest song with lyrics, penned by Vedder, taking aim squarely at the current political climate.

At the band's March 13 show in Santiago, Chile, Vedder, speaking in Spanish, dedicated their performance of "Can't Deny Me" to “the incredible students in Florida and the United States, who survived a terrible tragedy. We will all be protesting tomorrow throughout the United States,” he said, referencing the nationwide school walkout in protest of gun violence that took place on March 14. "We’d like to play this for them, and us,” he concluded.

The multi-platinum-selling, Grammy-winning band has various worldwide dates lined up for 2018 (including two-night stands in Seattle, Chicago and Boston) but odds are, with a new album on the way, that tour itinerary is about to expand exponentially. As they say: stay tuned.

Pearl Jam's 2018 Tour Dates