Posted by: detourmag on July 9, 2007 at 10:35 pm
SMASHING PUMPKINS, Zeitgeist (Reprise/WEA, 2007)
Calling Zeitgeist a Smashing Pumpkins album is uncomfortable, like trying on a favorite T-shirt after it’s shrunk in the wash. Sure, that shirt still looks cozy, hip and familiar. But the tightness renders it all too unpleasant. Zeitgeist just doesn’t fit right. It may sound like a Smashing Pumpkins album, it may smell like a Smashing Pumpkins album. It even kind of looks like a Smashing Pumpkins album. But it doesn’t quite taste like a Smashing Pumpkins album.
Replacing the line-up of guitarist James Iha and bassist D’Arcy, Jeff Schroeder and Ginger Reyes can’t close the deal on the great Pumpkins comeback. The band was always primarily an outlet for Billy Corgan’s songcraft - an amalgamation of complex, grungy pop rock with hints of psychedelia - but after both of his post-Pumpkins travesties (the half-hearted Zwan and forgettable solo shot The Future Embrace), calling out Zeitgeist as a third attempt to reunite Corgan with his past hit-making supremacy seems an obvious naysay.
As notoriously difficult to work with as big Billy is said to be, it’s nice to find Jimmy Chamberlin’s face behind the drum kit. His inclusion is logical; Chamberlin is the only Pumpkin who didn’t leave his alma mater by choice. (He also reappeared with Corgan in Zwan.) But regardless of Corgan’s skills as a personnel manager, Zeitgeist fails to deliver songs worthy of the great comeback brouhaha.
Opener “Doomsday Clock” and lead single “Tarantula” recall the original Pumpkins formula-crushing guitars with indelible hooks and delicious pop melodies-but too much of the album sounds like filler. The majority lack the venom of “Bullet with Butterfly Wings,” or the wistful nostalgia and hope found in “1979″ or “Disarm.” Instead Zeitgeist settles for bland, modern radio rock with typically crunchy guitars and even more typically uninspired melodies. “That’s the Way (My Love Is)” attempts to repeat Corgan’s past flair for balladry, but his whine of “I’m always there for you” just sounds empty at best.
Zeitgeist is satisfactory for fans desperate for more Pumpkins, or those looking to rekindle that 1990s pop-grunge spark within their sonic hearts. But it’s clear the band peaked with the enigmatic, two-disc opus Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. Despite Corgan’s attempts to resurrect his dying phoenix, Zeitgeist just doesn’t live up to the hope, let alone the hype. — Natalie B. David
Comments
SHWFLYR
Recent Posts
- What’s On My Mind: The Detour Status Update
- Detroitist >> Detour >> Dyspathy
- Reviews of Golden Silvers, The High Strung, Immaculate Machine, The Sweptaways + More
- Dave Bing Won’t Be The OSHA Man Of The Year, Things Are Different In West Michigan, And Lots Of Newspaper Fun
- Russian Circles @ The Magic Stick [4.24.09]
- Never Let The Jocks Count The Money, Don Williamson Doesn’t Trust The Mails, And Martha Reeves Is A Big Mess O’ FAIL! Tulips Also
- Homemade Not Porn: Detour Talks to Matt Cassatta of These People Comedy
- Felons Love A Fierce Man Purse, There’s No Reason To Poll World Of Warcraft Because Mages Don’t Vote, And Faith Healers Keep Thinning Out The Herd
- Mmmmmmmm….A Statue-Sized Fistful Of Little Roquefort Cheese Morsels Rolled In Crushed Nuts
- Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head (Rebuild! Restore! Watch Silly Vintage Video!)
- The Weekend In Rawk: Russian Circles, Computer Perfection, French Kicks, + More
- Face Punches, Bitch Fights, Skid Row’s Yo Yo Ma, Heavy Metal Canadians + Jews On Film
- Peter Karmanos Talks Wacky, Highland Park Tries To Hide The Evidence, And Matt Stafford Will Be The Next Chuck Long
- The Night In Rawk: Pewter Cub, Black Lodge, The Sugar People, + More
- Rock Lottery Recap
- Detroit Misplaced All Of Its Parking Money, State Parks Look Like Meth-Addled West Virginia Trailer Park, And There’s A Rick DeVos Now
- The Night In Rawk: Rock Lottery, Life and Times, + More
- The Night In Rawk: Parkway Drive, Stick To Your Guns, The Madison Opera + More
- Reviews of Art Brut, Cryptacize, Firs & Spruces, Japandroids + More
- Pulitzer Committee Joins Adolph Mongo’s Imaginary Lynch Mob, A Plot Against The People’s Incinerator, And The Best Toys Were Always Dangerous
- Linking back, 8 May 2009 « archizoo on Mmmmmmmm….A Statue-Sized Fistful Of Little Roquefort Cheese Morsels Rolled In Crushed Nuts Hey kids, Check out http://www.dyspathy.com to get a preview of the new site's look and feel. Let me know what you ...
- Woodwards Friend on Detroitist >> Detour >> Dyspathy Shit! Now I have to change my favorites AGAIN! Serously, I can't wait for your new site and I ...
- Julie on Detroitist >> Detour >> Dyspathy Oh for kwame's sake why didn't you just sell the place instead of padlocking the doors. Are you taking ...
- cj on What’s On My Mind: The Detour Status Update Congrats and good luck. Now, let's work on getting Woodman to open for X. Cheers!
- Woodman on What’s On My Mind: The Detour Status Update damn you and your restless ass. come back soon.
- david on Detroitist >> Detour >> Dyspathy Supergay pitcher & catcher jokes make Mt Clemens smile. I'll just buy the shots, how's that? You just have to ...
- August on Detroitist >> Detour >> Dyspathy Hey. I'm sorry. I think it's my fault. See, I found Detroitist (and tried to make everybody I know read ...
- AmyinMotown on Detroitist >> Detour >> Dyspathy Cesarean in the sense that it's happening on the fly and done in order to save this baby. There's a ...
- Woodwards Friend on Detroitist >> Detour >> Dyspathy "...about the cesarean birth of Dyspathy" Do you feel like you're being untimely ripped from Detour-mag's womb?
- Norm on Detroitist >> Detour >> Dyspathy