SHINY AND OH SO BRIGHT, VOL. 1 / LP: NO PAST. NO FUTURE. NO SUN.

Albumbeschreibung

The Smashing Pumpkins are "back together" (note the quotation marks). The four piece was born in Chicago in 1988 and led with an iron grip by the charismatic bald-headed Bill Corgan. Along the way they lost D'Arcy Wretzky, the platinum blonde bass player. She was the only one who didn't give in to the boss' request to regroup. Despite being in her fifties, the grudges have held. From the original Smashing Pumpkins line-up only Jimmy Chamberlin (drums) – the ever-faithful companion - and James Iha (guitar) – a more surprising appearance - gave in to Corgan. Jeff Schroeder was also added to the guitar and keyboards midway through. We haven’t seen Chamberlin, Iha and Corgan on stage or on a record together in 18 years, and that's probably why this strangely titled opus sounds so much like their best piece of work from the mid-90s: Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness. This time, the story is simple. "We just thought we'd get our heads down and play," Corgan explains. At first, the singer just wanted to release a track. They showed sixteen to Rick Rubin and the famous producer became so excited that he pushed for an album. Two weeks later, the whole thing was recorded in his Shangri La Studios in Malibu. Eight tracks, 31 minutes. It’s a dazzling mix of ‘90s grunge (Solara, Silvery Sometimes), heavy metal (with the blaring guitars of Marchin' On) and mystical and orchestral rock (the strings and choirs on Knights Of Malta or the keyboard on Alienation). All in all, a very nice Smashing Pumkins record. © Charlotte Saintoin/Qobuz