 Brian D. Schiller of Slant Magazine gave the album three and a half out of five stars . He stated that " the album is at best another good step toward their once great state and not a full return to it . What 's true , though , is that it 's the group 's best full album since Vitalogy . " Noel Murray of The A.V. Club ranked the album B + , considering it the " tightest Pearl Jam album in a decade " , describing the album as a comeback " filled with straight @-@ up , riff @-@ a @-@ <unk> rock songs . " Mojo gave the album three out of five stars . The review said , " [ S ] elf @-@ titled with good reason : Pearl Jam sound reborn , vital . " Kyle Anderson of Spin gave the album three out of five stars . He said that " rather than rage against the time machine , they seem to be having fun ... Pearl Jam are taking themselves less seriously , and it fits them like a snug flannel shirt . " Mat Snow of The Guardian also gave the album three out of five stars . In the review he stated that Vedder " musters absolute conviction in writing and singing lyrics of male teenage angst . " Snow observed , " And though few of these 13 numbers have the drama of tracks by the Who or Led Zeppelin , from whom the band draw much of their style , Pearl Jam play like men on a mission . " David <unk> of Pitchfork Media called it the " most consistent effort the group 's released since its second album , " but he added that it " gets pretty boring pretty ... quick . " 
