What are The Smashing Pumpkins planning?
For one, they’ve now signed to Sumerian Records, after parting ways with Napalm Records following their 2018 album Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1. Said LP was the first to feature original members James Iha and Jimmy Chamberlin, the most complete the original lineup has been since 1999. For another, they have a series of countdowns on their website, which correspond to a series of dates, the next of which appears to be Thursday, September 17th.
And don’t get me started on frontman Billy Corgan being the president of the National Wrestling Alliance.
Last week, the band released a pair of singles, seeming to gear up for a new album cycle. The first of the two was “The Colour of Love,” premiering last Thursday. It borrows from synthpop, upbeat with the band’s signature layers of guitars creating a full, complex soundscape. The latter, “Cyr,” is a bit more rock-leaning, feeling like something the band would have put out before their first hiatus in 2000. The guitars are less prominent, even with the rock composition, but it doesn’t take away from the overall product.
While I’ve enjoyed some of the work The Smashing Pumpkins have put out since their reunion, their most recent album was so-so for me, nothing remarkable. That said, these two new tracks are fun, specifically the Depeche Mode-informed “Cyr.” With even the last countdown appearing to end around mid-November, it seems like we’ll have a full album by year’s end, and the two samples from it are enough to generate the proper buzz.
Listen to the singles “The Colour of Love” and “Cyr” below:
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