Eddie Vedder

Vedder, whose day job is fronting Pearl Jam, would appear to be in his element creating the soundtrack to this new Sean Penn-directed flick. It’s an adaptation of the book by Jon Krakauer that tells the true story of a college graduate, Chris McCandless, who gives up all his cash and goes to live in the Alaskan wilderness, ending up starving to death in a sleeping bag. Morbid stuff but, due to Vedder’s interest in all things anti-corporate, McCandless’ renouncement of materialism is celebrated rather than the fact that he eventually tragically died. It’s accomplished but occasionally overbearingly earnest and calls to mind the Foos’ acoustic alter-ego, bolstered by Sufjan Stevens-ish banjo plucks and, in ‘Hard Sun’, the kind of play-it-again chorus made for credits rolling over a stunning landscape. Quite literally, probably.

Jamie Fullerton

5 out of 10