That’s right ladies and gents, Pearl Jam has commenced recording another studio effort, which will actually be their ninth studio album. For this purpose they’re working with producer Brendan O’Brien, guitarist Mike McCready told Seattle radio station KISW last Thursday (May 1).

Despite the fact that just “four or five” songs are complete so far, McCready said that the band hopes they will be able to release this album in 2008. Aside from Pearl Jam, Brendan O’Brien has also worked with Bruce Springsteen and Rage Against the Machine, but hasn’t worked with the Seattle band since 1998’s “Yield”.

“Brendan works really fast,” bassist Jeff Ament has told Billboard.com. “He’s a super pro. I’ve always felt, working with him, that he understood me as a bass player and that’s not always easy. A lot of producers are there to please the singer. But I’ve always had a great rapport with him. I can tell him I want something to sound like the O’Jays or Led Zeppelin or PJ Harvey and he gets it.”

“We’ve always been friends,” said O’Brien. “They were great to me when we were making records together [before], and we still remained very good friends…. I still think they’re a great band. Eddie [Vedder] has one of the best, if not the best, voices out there. When he sings, people believe them.”

Pearl Jam is also about to embark on a 13-date East Coast tour that runs from June 11-30. But what’s really impressive is the fact that in an effort to support Portland, Ore., U.S. Senate candidate Steve Novick, the band has set aside special tickets to its sold-out shows in New York, Camden, N.J., and Washington, D.C., that include donations to Novick’s campaign. So for all you voters out there, keep an eye out for Novick.