Posts Tagged ‘The Smashing Pumpkins’

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.