Smashing Pumpkins

Zeitgeist (Martha's Music/Reprise)

It's hard not to feel just a little sorry for Billy Corgan, and not to regard his resurrection of the Smashing Pumpkins brand as a desperate bid to reclaim past glories. After all, it was painfully obvious that not many Pumpkins fans really cared about Zima (or whatever that band was called), and fewer still had any time for Corgan's 2005 solo album. (If you're going to recruit the Cure's Robert Smith to sing a duet with you, why in the name of all that's holy would you pick a Bee Gees song?) Even the cue-ball-pated alt-nation pioneer himself has admitted, in a very public way (full-page ads in the Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times ), that his post-Pumpkins outings have been less than satisfying.

Which brings us to the new Smashing Pumpkins album, Zeitgeist , featuring Corgan, drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, and exactly zero other people who used to be in the band. Come to think of it, wasn't that pretty much the lineup of Zuma (or whatever it was called)? Oh sure, other notable musicians were involved, but no one had any illusions about who was calling the shots. Anyhow, the dynamic duo have decided to focus on the meat-and-potatoes rock side of the Pumpkins sound. That means there's no "Tonight, Tonight", "Disarm", or "1979" here. It's all Stonehenge-size guitars and hammer-of-the-gods beats. And, it must be said, both elements sound freaking awesome. The thundering-toms intro to "United States" makes a strong case that–Dave Grohl be damned–Chamberlin is the best drummer in rock. Later in the song, Corgan's thickly layered chords break down into Ping-Pong–ing harmonics and dazed-and-confused squeals before bursting back in a wall of distorted riffage. The blistering lead that closes "Pomp and Circumstances" (and the album) shows why Corgan was one of the true six-string heroes of the Lollapalooza generation.

What are missing are songs that are worth hearing for more than their kick-ass components. Corgan is pissed off–or at least deeply, deeply concerned–about something, hence references to doomsday clocks and fighting for God and country. It's hard to tell what he's on about, though, what with his incessant screeching. But that's nothing new, is it? You either like the guy's singing or you don't.

Even if Zeitgeist isn't exactly a stunning return to form, it is better than Zardoz. Or whatever that band was called.

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