Review / Multiple Authors
Smashing Pumpkins
Zeitgeist

Zeit·geist n. German. The spirit of the time; the taste and outlook characteristic of a period or generation.

The Smashing Pumpkins' comeback album threatens to set itself up as a Serious Rock Statement about present-day societal ills, in the same vein as Jack White's totally hoary commentary about illegal immigration on the recent White Stripes single "Icky Thump." As a longtime Pumpkins fan, this had me worried: these kinds of things tend to be both unnecessary and disruptive to the controlled chaos that rock music should be aspiring to, only leading us into a Bono-esque wilderness of tedious moralism and carefully feigned authenticity. (For more, see: Mekons, "Blow Your Tuneless Trumpet", et al.)

Thankfully, Billy Corgan remains the insular guitar romantic he's always been: the zeitgeist on Zeitgeist is a literary device, a trope Corgan uses to convey his inner turmoil rather than to make pronouncements about today's world. Even album centerpiece "United States" (with its ill-advised boilerplate refrain of "revolution") feels more Bauhaus than Baghdad - like Han Solo, Corgan isn't in this for your revolution. The classic M.O. of the band Bob Mould once called "the grunge Monkees" has always been marrying glitter narcissism and goth navel-gazing to the shoegazer faith in the anesthetic quality of distortion, and it's that template that they come home to on Zeitgeist.

The band itself has been whittled down to just Corgan and omni-drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, who still sounds like a Hindu deity behind the skins, deploying his clattering snare rolls and skittery thump with skilled precision. The diminished roster comes as no real surprise, since the Pumpkins have often been a notoriously one-man show in the studio. (The liner notes cutely read "Jimmy Chamberlin: Drums / Billy Corgan: All The Rest.") Together the duo lock all the requisite elements into place, and Zeitgeist indeed sounds like an authentic Smashing Pumpkins album.

The problem is that it never sounds nearly as inspired as their best records. The album forsakes both the quiet experimentation of Adore and the demented ambition of MACHINA/The Machines of God, but in the process it also loses both records' fearlessness, delivering a set composed primarily of the heavy guitar rockers that the band made their name with. And sadly these songs feel like Pumpkins-by-numbers: they satisfy but never spellbind the way the band's best material does.

They do come close at times: opener "Doomsday Clock" and leadoff single "Tarantula" are both scorching floorboard-rattlers aspiring towards "Geek USA" or "I Am One" status, again setting Corgan's boyish, yearning vocals as the counterpoint to a thick wall of processed distortion. The quirky "Starz" manages to get off the ground, helped along by a classic Chamberlin freak-out. And "Bring the Light" is subtly catchy but also infuriatingly reminiscent of some inescapable Coldplay single I don't know the name of, slightly marring the entire experience. The album's weakest moment comes with its overlong centerpiece "United States", which flails without friction for eight and a half minutes before managing to catch hold of a satisfyingly martial stomp, but it's too little, too late. And for an album so lyrically apocalyptic, Corgan spends nearly the entire running time in the same starry-eyed mode, never summoning up the venomous vocal bite that distinguished Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness' nastier moments.

Zeitgeist is a frustrating experience, but not without its rewards. It's more than serviceable, and it uncoils a little bit more with every listen in the way that great albums tend to, but it never catches fire. At the same time, it's not really disappointing, with plenty of bright moments and songs that grow a touch more endearing with each spin. The Pumpkins of old were at their best (read: Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness) when gloriously unpredictable, trading personalities like kids once traded baseball cards. This latest incarnation of the band sounds more focused than ever, but nowhere near as formidable.

In all likelihood you're fully aware of the Smashing Pumpkins history and 90's legacy; if you somehow don't, I recommend Wikipedia. But in short, this is the first album in seven years from Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin under the Smashing Pumpkins moniker. Both were in Zwan, and both performed on the other's respective solo disc. But since 2000, neither has recorded under the Smashing Pumpkins name, and evidently, had no intentions of this being a true reunion. Because Corgan and Chamberlin are self-described "brothers in music," this isn't really a reunion; it's an attempt to regain some mainstream glory following Zwan's quick implosion and Corgan's ghastly solo disc in the only way they know how: as the Smashing Pumpkins.

While the move to reignite the Pumpkins without James Iha or D'arcy Wretzky (or even Melissa Auf der Maur) might seem tactless to some, the fact is Corgan and Chamberlain probably have enough money to get by comfortably without having to accomplish anything commercially substantial for the rest of their lives. So why feel the need to reunite after a seven-year absence, forty-years-old, and album sales in the multi-millions? Could it be that Corgan and Chamberlain genuinely felt that the Pumpkins were where they felt most at home musically and conceptually? I seem to stand alone amongst critics who buy this sincerity.

Following Zwan and TheFutureEmbrace's critical and commercial shortcomings, Corgan had to have considered that he was out of touch with mainstream music as well as his former fanbase. Knowing this, most rational Pumpkins fans assumed the reunion and new album would be a disaster. But when news of Roy Thomas Baker (Queen) and Terry Date (Pantera, Soundgarden, Deftones) producing the new album arose, hope, curiosity, and mystery replaced earlier sentiments of fear, disgust, and contempt. Then came the album's first single, "Tarantula," a wall of distorted, layered guitars crushing over hyper-vicious drumming. But something was different; something was new despite the song being uniquely Pumpkins in texture. "Tarantula" embodies an updated version of the Pumpkins' 90s alt-rock. For the first time since Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, Corgan released a song that could be considered relevant to today's mainstream rock market.

So finally Zeitgeist has arrived after three years of waiting following Corgan's infamous full-page newspaper ad. And you know what? It doesn't suck nearly as much as you might think. In fact, if you're already a Pumpkins fan then this album is good, possibly great. But if you're just a casual fan who loved the band's earlier, near-perfect singles, then this album totally blows. Zeitgeist is an over-inflated hard-rock album with little to no variation in structure or sound. It is loud, fast, distorted, and overly brutish. Gone are the artfully crafted tunes that balanced soft with heavy. Gone are the delicate pop gems that showed the band's versatility. Gone are the dreamy shoegaze influences. It's one hundred percent rock, one hundred percent of the time, which is precisely why it will probably succeed on today's mainstream rock market.

All these criticisms still don't negate for the fact that Corgan was and continues to be a terrific if not melodramatic songwriter. Zeitgeist is no different in this respect. For better or worse, it is the embodiment of the overdramatic Corgan. Lyrics are contrived but are charming in their own respect under the façade that this is a politically driven album. Lyrically and thematically, what you see is what you get from Corgan when he's in Pumpkins-mode. The outright and performed angst is entertaining to those who can laugh at the band while still enjoying the music. There are no segments in Zeitgeist where you'll feel the need to rewind twenty times to hear a profound lyric because there simply are none.

Again, these weaknesses can still be ignored for a few reasons: One, Corgan's best strength in spite of his vocal style is his ability to craft perfect melodies. Although you won't see anything as beautiful as "Thirty-Three," "Rhinoceros," or "1979," Corgan still weaves melodies seamlessly together, most notably on the sonically dark "Bleeding the Orchid," a track that would've fit well in Adore's tracklisting. Two, this band can still bring the rock. Album opener "Doomsday Clock" is a sensational hard-rock song, whose chorus additionally benefits from another solid Corgan melody. "Tarantula" and "7 Shades of Black" follow similar traits, with over-the-top guitar layers and distortion, both surpassing nearly every former Pumpkins song in terms of heaviness, with the exception to "The Aeroplane Flies High (Turns Left, Looks Right)." Alas Corgan and Chamberlain attempt to conquer even that with "United States," a fuzzed-out, nine-minute Sabbath-esque epic; needless to say it doesn't come anywhere close in topping "Aeroplane." The remainder of the album's tracks sound like accessible Pumpkins hard-rock with throwbacks to earlier works. "That's The Way (My Love Is)," "Neverlost," and "For God and Country" all resemble Machina in style, but don't suck quite nearly as hard as any track found on said album, although those three particular tracks are probably the album's weakest. "(Come On) Let's Go!" and "Bring the Light" sound like aggressive Zwan tracks, but both mesh relatively well, soothing the overall intensity, albeit only slightly. "Starz," the only track I had trouble qualifying is an enigma. It definitely sucks overall, but I can't decide whether it sucks in a positive or negative way. The lyrics are cringe-worthy and the music is cheesy, but almost so cheesy that it's endearing. I'm just not sure. Album closer "Pomp and Circumstances" is the only track to resemble the balance the Smashing Pumpkins once had. An airy pop finale that recalls The Flaming Lips and The Polyphonic Spree, "Pomp and Circumstances" might be the last glimmer of hope fans have at a more dynamic album in the future.

Is this record great? Far from it. Is it terrible? Not at all. Does it carry potential for future releases? Possibly. Do I enjoy it? Certainly.

Zeitgeist is unquestionably the "Smashing Pumpkins for Dummies" album in the band's catalogue. There are many ways to analyze this album and dissect Corgan's egomaniacal behavior, but when taken at face value, this is truly a quality mainstream hard-rock record; it certainly beats the shit out of Saliva, Stone Sour, Three Days Grace, and the rest. But taken from a more subjective standpoint, it is disappointing to see more cock n' balls than art and balance from the Smashing Pumpkins name. Definitively Pumpkins in sound, Zeitgeist will hopefully prove to be more than just a successful re-launching pad for a once terrific band.

Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness changed the way I listened to music. Siamese Dream continues to do so. Machina is one of the best records I've ever heard. The news of the Smashing Pumpkins' abrupt return, more than half a decade later, was a big deal - a huge one in fact - and of course it brought with it a number of irritatingly necessary questions. Would all of the original members be present? How would the onset of age have affected the band's former arrogance, former maturity, and former eccentricity? With such a huge gap between albums would they even sound like the same band anymore? In no uncertain terms, Zeitgeist is a brawny return to the familiar sounds of the mid-90's (if the desperately obvious artwork hadn't clued you in already) although with D'arcy Wretzky and James Iha both MIA, it's difficult to call it a return to the classic Pumpkins sound.

"Doomsday Clock" bulldozes into the room with a hard-hitting Alice in Chains-esque riff at the wheel. A decent enough rock-out track, sure, but otherwise there's not a lot to it. "7 Shades of Black" is about the same on the forgetability meter, with a catchy vocal performance saving it from the buzzing monotony of the guitars. By now, most will have had a chance to sample first single "Tarantula", and within those that have, it's caused a greater divide than the Berlin Wall. My own first reaction upon hearing Billy Corgan's vocals was something close to repulsion, but I've since decided that this track is a perfect demonstration of a blistering return to form, and more than that, a reinvention. After the lackluster opening of the album, this little adrenaline shot really hits the spot, and following this, any remaining worries that Zeitgeist would crash and burn are swept away by a tidal wave in the shape of "Starz," a track whose hair-raising restlessness explodes in a chorus featuring one of the most singularly memorable and impeccably executed riffs in recent memory.

"United States" is a ten-minute mass of crescendos, cries of "Revolution!" and inexorable drumming. The guitar tone remains fairly tedious throughout, and it's easy to write off this miniature rock epic as a failed experiment, but as is the case with many of the tracks on Zeitgeist, cranking up the volume makes a hell of a difference. One of the record's few mellow tracks, "Bring the Light" has perhaps more in common with Machina than anything else on the disc, with the thick sound of Corgan's vocals and Jimmy Chamberlin's furious blasts readying up memories of both "Age of Innocence" and "The Everlasting Gaze." These small glimpses of the past are fun in a nostalgic way, but they also serve to remind that things might not have changed as drastically as anticipated.

"Pomp and Circumstances" ends the Pumpkins' new release on a characteristically bittersweet note; between the oceanic waves of sound and one particularly retroactive guitar solo, Corgan laments that he's "Cold, worn out and shamed." Zeitgeist isn't a particularly original or traditionally innovative record, yet aside from the alternating blistering and disappointing tracks, there's something about its recklessness, its air of returning to old stomping ground, even the amount of time it's taken to get here, that gives it a certain quality of timelessness. Whatever it is Billy Corgan's ashamed of, I sincerely hope that it's firmly rooted in the past, as Zeitgeist is the sound of an uneasy but optimistic new chapter in a catalogue that I would kill to see return to its former transcendental strength.