Posts Tagged ‘Billy Corgan’

Amidst the loud fuzz of guitar driven distortion comes the Silversun Pickups sophomore album, Swoon. It improves upon their impressive debut, Carnavas, in its more intricate arrangements and fully realized song structures. Most of the songs on Swoon top four and a half minutes and feature the ballad turned rocker design of one of their foremost influences, The Smashing Pumpkins.

The Pumpkins similarities abound on Swoon; from the album’s artwork, the lead singer’s vocals (which sound a lot like Billy Corgan’s), to the nature of the arrangements which resemble the Pumpkins earlier material. Listen to the “Soma” like influence of “Growing Old Is Getting Old” and the “Rocket” like theatrics of “Panic Switch,” the album’s finest song.

Much like the Pumpkins did in their heyday, the Pickups know how to find beauty in noise. If you like a lot of good guitar work and songs with gorgeous melodies that build to thrilling conclusions, you’ll find a lot to like in Swoon. Needless to say, if you liked Carnavas, you’ll really like Swoon.

Half of The Smashing Pumpkins are hitting the road to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the band.  Frontman Billy Corgan and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin will be starting their tour in Cleveland on November 1 and ending in LA on December 3.  

As on their 2007 album Zeitgeist, original members D’arcy and James Iha are not included in the band’s lineup.

The Smashing Pumpkins will play five cities twice on this tour, on consecutive nights.  They promise to play two full sets with no overlapping songs for fans who attend both nights.  The Chicago rockers will also play four nights in their hometown.

October 26 is a big day for the band as well.  They’ll headline Neil Young’s Bridge School Benefit that day, and release a new single “G.L.O.W.” as part of Guitar Hero World Tour, following in the footsteps of other bands such as Aerosmith and Metallica to feature their music in the popular gaming series.

The Smashing Pumpkins will release a double disc DVD on November 11 called “If All Goes Wrong.” The DVD features a documentary of the Pumpkins reunion and live residencies last year through interviews with band members, fans, journalists, and other musicians. The second disc features a collection of live performances from the band’s residency in San Francisco.

Say what you want to about the Smashing Pumpkins, love ‘em or hate ‘em (there is no in between), the Pumpkins love their fans and this DVD is a prime example. Also on the first disc is a featurette about Pumpkins fans called Voices of the Ghost Children (featuring an interview with the Who’s Pete Townshend). The live DVD also contains seven different exclusive new tracks.

Billy Corgan remains one of the most intriguing musicians of modern times and this special DVD serves as a testament to that fact. To those who’ve been fortunate enough to see the band perform live, most can attest to the fact that they are one of the greatest in rock. For the die hard fan this DVD is long overdue.