Pearl Jam has re-teamed with producer Brendan O'Brien (Bruce Springsteen, AC/DC), for their ninth studio album. Guitarist Mike McCready confirmed the news to Seattle radio station KISW last Thursday. O'Brien oversaw 1993's 'Vs.' and 1994's 'Vitalogy,' which sold 7 million and 5 million copies, respectively.

"We are working on a new record right now, so we are in the process of writing a bunch of new songs," McCready said of the follow-up to Pearl Jam's 2006 eponymous effort. "[Brendan O'Brien] is back with us right now so we are working on songs with him. We will try to do a record sometime this year, but that's about all we got. We've got about four or five tunes ready to go right now. They are just in the early phases."

Although McCready wouldn't commit on a release date, he said, "We won't give you a 'Chinese Democracy,'" riffing on the long-delayed Guns N' Roses album. McCready was promoting a Seattle benefit he participated in over the weekend to benefit the Crohns & Colitis Foundation.