Backspacer is the ninth studio album by the American rock band Pearl Jam, released on September 20, 2009.

It was recorded from February through April 2009 with producer Brendan O'Brien, who had worked on every Pearl Jam album except their 1991 debut Ten and 2006's self-titled record—although this was his first production credit since 1998's Yield.

The album features lyrics with a more optimistic look than the politically infused predecessors Riot Act and Pearl Jam, something frontman Eddie Vedder attributed to the election of Barack Obama.

Physical copies of the record were sold through Target in North America, and promotion included a deal with Verizon, a world tour, and moderately successful singles "The Fixer" and "Got Some"/"Just Breathe".

Reviews for Backspacer were largely positive, praising the sound and composition, and the album became Pearl Jam's first chart topper in the U.S.

In 2007, after Pearl Jam's 2006 tour had ended, the band members began recording demo material on their own while staying in occasional contact via e-mail.

"[9] In April 2009, the band went for a two-week session to finish the album with O'Brien at his mixing facility at Southern Tracks in Atlanta, Georgia.

[11] The album title was chosen in part because of nostalgia for the historical name of the backspace key on typewriters that went out of use in the 1950s[12] and also as a reference to looking back on one's life.

"[17] Vedder stated, "The new record feels good so far—really strong and uptempo, stuff we can sink our teeth into",[6] and added that the band's live performances inspired the album's sound: "At one of our gigs, without flashpots and electricity, there's only so much room for those difficult listening songs.

"[6] Gossard stated, "We've made a couple of political and pointed records, the last two in particular, and just to move away from that is great, because it allows you to go back to that when you need to and it refreshes everybody, and it comes down to a beat and a melody and your friends and a lyric and a poem and something that's important to you.

[23] The lyrics to "Johnny Guitar," described by Vedder as "almost an Elvis Costello homage,"[11] were inspired by a collage of album covers pasted on the bathroom wall of the band's rehearsal space.

[23] According to Vedder, "Speed of Sound" is taken from the perspective of a man still sitting in a bar after everyone else has left, but he added that even though the song is sad it became more "confident" when played with the whole band.

[27] In 2009, Village Voice Media, publishers of 16 alternative weeklies, suspended all syndicated cartoons across their entire chain, including Perkins' strip This Modern World.

"[31] The album's cover art features nine images created by Perkins, and was revealed through a contest on the band's official website.

Pearl Jam reached a deal with Target to be the exclusive big-box store retailer for the album in the United States.

[18] The album also saw release through the band's official website, independent record stores, online retailers, and iTunes.

[42] AllMusic staff writer Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album four and a half out of five stars, saying that "it sounds as if they enjoy being in a band, intoxicated by the noise they make.

"[17] Ann Powers of the Los Angeles Times gave the album four out of four stars, describing it as "11 breakneck rockers and candidly emotional ballads, adding up to barely more than a half hour of optimally toned catharsis" and praising the "lightness and dexterity of the playing" and "Vedder's hard-driving, often playful vocals", and called its music "Accessible without sacrificing sophistication, aggressive without flailing".

[52] Rolling Stone staff writer Rob Sheffield gave Backspacer four out of five stars, saying that it contains "the shortest, tightest, punkiest tunes they've ever banged out," and that "Eddie Vedder's heart-on-fire vocals are the main attraction, as always."

He added, "After toughing out the Bush years, Pearl Jam aren't in the mood for brooding; at long last, surf's up.

Simpson observed that "this is a record made by mature men with perspective: full of reflection and eclecticism, finding space for both U2 guitar motifs and Buzzcocks solos."

"[45] Evan Sawdey of PopMatters gave the album a rating of 7/10 and wrote that Pearl Jam "have finally re-discovered who they are, and sound stronger than ever because of it".

"[50] Time reviewer Josh Tyrangiel said, "The songs here are built on hooks, covered with guitar fuzz, and then trimmed back a bit so the melody abides."

"[51] Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B, saying that Backspacer is "the sort of sweaty rock & roll that belongs in a bar with cracked-leather booths and $2 beers," and that it "grows same-y, but tracks like the surfing-as-life-metaphor anthem 'Amongst the Waves' do indeed make something old feel, if not new, good again.