New Smashing Pumpkins album Dec 9th

eviltimeban

Apparently.

http://www.smashingpumpkinsnexus.com/#!CREATIONSP-ALBUMBSIDES-UPDATE-/c7ba/289DF05B-1868-40ED-9F3A-7C6BA16FE0F7

drugstore cowboy

Looking forward to the deulxe edition of 'Adore' too!

eviltimeban

New track up today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7D3-jXN1Kw

This is pretty kick ass in fairness. It sounds a bit like Where Boys Fear To Tread off Mellon Collie. Hopefully the album is more like this than "Being Beige".

eviltimeban

So its out - did anyone get it? I think its great - there's a good mix of stuff and its sort of like a mini version of "Oceania". One And All is a classic Pumpkins track, wouldn't have been out of place on Mellon Collie. I really like Tiberius and Drum & Fife as well. Vocally its pretty good, though he could do with using less vibrato on his voice, but there's more soft edges than on previous releases.

I think Tommy Lee makes the album. His drumming his great, and almost matches Jimmy Chamberlain's for fitting exactly with the music. I'd like to see him drum on the next album (though I'm not sure he it). Pity he didn't tour with them.

My only criticism is that it is too short at 32 minutes. It could do with one more song to round it out. One thing Billy hasn't done since reforming is something a bit dreamier - in the Hummer / Drown / Soma / Galapagos vein. I think a long, dreamy song would've topped the album off very nicely. Hopefully on "Day For Night" next year he might revisit that style.

Lenny5

Picking it up today hoping hmv have it in stock! Heard 3 songs so far very promising

eviltimeban

Lenny5 wrote: »

Picking it up today hoping hmv have it in stock! Heard 3 songs so far very promising

They should do. If not, Tower definitely have it.

Lenny5

So I got it and have listened to it. Wow not what I was expecting! I'm loving it. Big improvement from Billy. Couple of the songs caught me off guard like run2me but I think it's a cool twist on Pumpkins music. All songs have really catchy clever riffs going through them. I aggree with you Eviltimeban about the vocal improvement. Vocals since Zeitgeist have been grating. I've missed Billy's breathy vocal effect that he contrasted so well with his edgier snarl. Read that he was using a Siamese Dream vocal effect on this album and you can definitely hear it. So it's a big thumbs up from me!!

Lenny5

Couple of dodgy lyrics but can overlook that. Also aggree that it cudve done with one more song as it feels very short.

eviltimeban

Lenny5 wrote: »

I've missed Billy's breathy vocal effect

Yeah me too. He hasn't done that for years; really the last album that had "old Billy" vocals on it was probably Adore, or Machina. Since Zwan he's been singing in that clearer, more upfront voice. Which is fair enough; in reality his voice has actually become stronger, he can reach higher notes, but I and many others enjoyed his softer vocals.

I loved the contrast between loud guitars and soft vocals which was employed on Gish and Siamese Dream. For the most part the vocals on Mellon Collie are pretty terrible, but he got it back with Adore.

Birneybau

Got it on Spotify, gave it a spin, removed it from my phone.

Not great at all.

drugstore cowboy

Corgan is due to be a guest on today's show from Alex Jones on infowars

Saw them last week in the Koko in London, probably the only chance I'll ever get to see them in a small club style intimate venue and not an arena. Great show!

To be honest (no offence anyone!) I wouldn't exactly be their biggest fan. Actually I was brought to the gig as a sort of "plus one". My partner comes along to gigs by bands he doesn't like because I want to go, and I do the same for him. But after expecting nothing I was genuinely impressed. Only Billy as an original member I believe, The Killers and Rage Against The Machine now supply the remaining members (I imagine everyone posting here already knows that).

Pleased to see them avoid the populist "greatest hits" style setlist and concentrate on new material plus mostly less obvious back catalogue songs.

seachto7

If you can get over the fact they are called the Smashing Pumpkins, rather than Billy and band (debate being are the SP just Billy, or was always a band?)
Had the good fortune of seeing them in 97 in France when they released Mellon Collie. Fantastic gig. Chamberlain had been booted out at the time.
I'd still go and see him/them again. Great guitar tones off his albums. I'll give him that much.
The Glastonbury set was good too last year.
Anyone have the Oceania dvd?

eviltimeban

seachto7 wrote: »

If you can get over the fact they are called the Smashing Pumpkins, rather than Billy and band (debate being are the SP just Billy, or was always a band?)

Just Billy. It was the name he traded under. He even had the name before he had the band. Its just the other guys became famous in their own right, even though they made minimal contributions to the albums. With the exception of Jimmy of course, an amazing drummer. For me Tommy Lee has been a great substitute; his drumming on this album is great.

But the sound, concept, songs, image, style - everything to do with what SP are was down to Billy. Butch Vig played a big role in the sound too; I find anything after Siamese Dream just didn't sound as good.

chamaid

I think the new album is their best in a while. Being beige is a cracking tune. Gave some of the old stuff a new listen on spoify as a result but not as good as Gish or Siamese Dream.

eviltimeban

chamaid wrote: »

not as good as Gish or Siamese Dream.

I think this will be on Billy Corgan's headstone!

AbusesToilets

Gish is so average I think, never listen to it. I don't listen to Siamese Dream much, prefer Adore and Pisces Iscariot myself.

eviltimeban

AbusesToilets wrote: »

Gish is so average I think, never listen to it. I don't listen to Siamese Dream much, prefer Adore and Judas Iscariot myself.

:rolleyes:

Birneybau

Amusing, somewhat, interview with slaphead:

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/dec/18/billy-corgan-smashing-pumpkins-interview

eviltimeban

Birneybau wrote: »

Amusing, somewhat, interview with slaphead:

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/dec/18/billy-corgan-smashing-pumpkins-interview

while I'll ignore your baldophobia, this is a pretty crazy interview alright.

Birneybau

eviltimeban wrote: »

while I'll ignore your baldophobia, this is a pretty crazy interview alright.

Ah sure, I'm on the way myself.

AbusesToilets

eviltimeban wrote: »

:rolleyes:

I can't prefer one of their albums to another? How dare I

Everythin coming up Milhouse

AbusesToilets wrote: »

I can't prefer one of their albums to another? How dare I

I assumed it was for your 'Pisces Iscariot' / 'Judas Iscariot' faux pas.

The new album reminds me a lot of the Zwan one which I wasn't a big fan of.

AbusesToilets

Everythin coming up Milhouse wrote: »

I assumed it was for your 'Pisces Iscariot' / 'Judas Iscariot' faux pas.

The new album reminds me a lot of the Zwan one which I wasn't a big fan of.

Typing with a baby in your arms doesn't lead to accurate spelling

What didn't you like about Zwan?

I haven't gotten into Oceania much, didn't resonate with me. I'm liking this album so far, Anaise (sp?) is a good track.

6am7f9zxrsjvnb

The Zwan album was probably the most melodic album he's ever done- full of big,catchy pop songs .Of course,like a lot of Corgan's albums, it outstays its welcome by 10-15 minutes.

New album is surprisingly brief and feels like a minor work.'Being Beige' is a great tune though.OCEANIA was a genuine return to form and didn't get the credit it deserved. In fairness to to the guy, he deserves a lot of praise for the sonic diversity he's shown throughout the last 20 odd years.

Everythin coming up Milhouse

Lola Ancient Factory wrote: »

The Zwan album was probably the most melodic album he's ever done- full of big,catchy pop songs .Of course,like a lot of Corgan's albums, it outstays its welcome by 10-15 minutes.

AbusesToilets wrote: »

What didn't you like about Zwan?

I think the quote above from Lola Ancient Factory sums the album up pretty well. It's just too poppy for my tastes and a bit dull IMO.

I think the new album is closest to the Zwan one out of all the 'Billy Corgan' albums so used that as a comparison, a lazy one I must admit. However Being Beige, Anaise!, Run2me, Drum + Fife wouldn't look out of place on that album IMO.

I should point out that I don't hate the new album. There's a few songs I do like, Tiberius and One and All being the stand out ones, but I definitely think its a step backwards after Oceania.

drugstore cowboy

Got 'Adore' on vinyl from Santa!!!

AbusesToilets

nice man, is it the new edition?

Armistice

Lenny5 wrote: »

I've missed Billy's breathy vocal effect that he contrasted so well with his edgier snarl.

This made the Pumpkins for me. Billys heart wrenching and eerily beautiful almost haunting voice and occasional rage filled snarls.

Lets face it , Billys not a good singer by traditional measures. He is dry and monotonous.

However when he puts his emotion into it and sings in his bedroom voice, his voice becomes so beautiful and raw and unique.

Sadly I think breathy Billy has just grown up. Still though, Like what I hear so far on the new album!

drugstore cowboy

AbusesToilets wrote: »

nice man, is it the new edition?

Yeah it's the new one and I'm over the moon with it as the box set was out of my price range sadly so getting this as a pressie is fantastic.

eviltimeban

Armistice wrote: »

However when he puts his emotion into it and sings in his bedroom voice, his voice becomes so beautiful and raw and unique.

Sadly I think breathy Billy has just grown up. Still though, Like what I hear so far on the new album!

Never heard it described as his "bedroom voice" before! but that's true; that's what I liked originally about SP, on tracks like Rhinoceros and Snail, where he'd sing soft and light and match that with the more snarly stuff. Now he just sings pretty much the same way all the time (though on Anaise there is some softer stuff hidden in there).

I've gotten used to it anyway. Since Zwan he's sung like that, all the way up to now. It was OK on the solo album, not good at all on Zeitgeist, getting better on the Teargarden tracks, much better on Oceania, and now has just plateaued off. Though I do like how he's done more double tracking to beef it up a bit.