Do you remember that special time in the 90s when Billy Corgan took the sounds of modern rock, heavy metal, Goth rock and pop, threw them all in a cauldron and mixed vigorously? It produced the band that I, as well as many other music lovers, remember very fondly; they were called The Smashing Pumpkins. The Pumpkins took hold of a large market in the 90s by producing a unique and powerful sound led by Corgan’s social disenchantment.
The band rose and played their first shows from the streets of Corgan’s native city, Chicago. The Pumpkins maintained stability throughout the ’90s and bridged a gap between grunge and pop rock that attracted many of their listeners and gave them much success. The band ended its career in 1997, burning out, not fading away, almost ten years after their first show.
Or did they? Two years earlier, an ad placed by Corgan himself appeared in the Chicago Tribune announcing that The Smashing Pumpkins were reuniting. However, Corgan did not round up the rest of the band, and the only Pumpkin besides Corgan who returned was drummer Jimmy Chamberlin.
In all reality, “Zeitgeist” is only a pseudo Smashing Pumpkins album released by a band with the same name but not nearly the same components. This doesn’t sound particularly complimentary, but that’s the truth. On the positive side, Corgan always seemed to be the life force of the Pumpkins, visibly leading them into musical battle on stage.
He remains the clear driving force if not the sole inspiration for this new project, and change isn’t a bad thing, right? The changes are clear, for better and worse, in Pseudo Pumpkin’s new album “Zeitgeist.” The album comes out of the box fast and hard, certainly harder than anything The Pumpkins have done before.
Corgan’s guitar riffs and vocals roar. When I first listened to this album, it was easy to see that Corgan was a man on a mission, and unlike his many albums with the original Pumpkins, he has something to prove. The first song, titled “Doomsday Clock,” bombards the listener with power chords and scratchy vocals.
It starts the album in an exciting way and I personally like the song. It’s not quite what I expected from this album, but it is solid with some impressive guitar and drum work. As I continued through the album, briefly listening to each song, I began to become concerned.
Nearly every song of this album resembled the ferocity and intensity of the first. It seemed Corgan had veered away from the delicate balance of pop, grunge and metal that made the Pumpkins what they were. My first listen had me yearning for songs like “1979” and “Tonight, Tonight”.
Had the Pumpkins lost what I originally loved them for? I refused to believe it, and after several days I gave this album the second, more in-depth chance it deserves. On second listen, I took in this album more objectively.
Forgetting that this claimed to be a band I once loved, I absorbed the lyrics and sounds in “Zeitgeist” once again. This time its merit showed through. I realized the ferocity for this album has a reason.
This album is an angry one. An anti-war, anti-administration feelings run through it, a climate that did not exist for the Pumpkins in days past. Further examination of the tracks reveals them to be deep in meaning and musical talent, and gems like “Bring the Light” come to the surface.
Overall, I decided “Zeitgeist” rocks pretty hard. Expectation and disappointments aside, this is a good album. After days of listening to it and wondering what had happened to The Smashing Pumpkins I once knew, I eventually realized that I was looking at this album the wrong way.
“Zeitgeist” has to be taken for what it is, not what it claims to be, and “Zeitgeist” is a first release from a new band. Indeed, some of its parts may have at one time been The Smashing Pumpkins, but the band that wrote and performed “Zeitgeist” is new. If rock fans leave their preconceived notions at the door, they may be able to enjoy “Zeitgiest.
” If not, they will be longing for the real Smashing Pumpkins rather quickly.
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