Few bands have held such uncertainty in their future as The Smashing Pumpkins. With their evolution from a grunge favourite of the 1990s to a more estranged wild-card of alternative rock, it’s very hard to pinpoint exactly what their next move will be, and what they’ll sound like in their newest incarnation.
Progression and evolution aside, the band raised more than a few eyebrows with the release of 2012s Oceania, regarded as a fantastic return to form for Billy Corgan and co. Part of the much larger Teargarden By Kaleidyscope project, the “album within an album” concept was miraculously pulled off without fault, especially at a time when so many had given up hope.
Now with the announcement of Monuments To An Elegy and Day For Night, the next two full-lengths to round out the project, alongside the departure of everyone from the band sans Jeff Schroeder and Corgan himself, it was interesting to see what would be their next move.
Hit
Machina haters, cast all fear aside, because the first thing you’ll notice about Monuments To An Elegy is how much it sounds like a classic Pumpkins record. The soft walls of summery grunge hearken back to their former selves and Corgan’s downbeat yet accessible voice resonates with a generation that grew up parallel to the band. Opener ‘Tiberius’ washes over the listener with a sense of familiarity during the thick lead guitar riffs and the occasional electronic elements are used very intuitively, without saturating the band’s sound.
Moreover, lead single of ‘Being Beige’ is an iconic track, transitioning between subtle fingerpicking and monstrous chorus walls that scream classic Pumpkins. If there was ever any trepidation, fear not, as The Smashing Pumpkins have never sounded more like themselves.
Shit
Despite this, the biggest and most prevalent issue with Monuments To An Elegy is just how much of a standard and familiar release it is. It seems unjust to call out a band notorious for innovation on their lack thereof, but their tenth full-length feels like somewhat of a missed opportunity. Oceania worked because (like any good record) it retained the classic sound the band is renown for while pushing their creative limits via experimentation. The title track of which was a highlight, sheerly because of how it seamlessly transitioned from a heartfelt acoustic section to a more anthemic, electronic movement.
Monuments To An Elegy on the other hand, retreads common ground, wedging its way between the landmark Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness and the more dark and brooding Adore on the Pumpkins spectrum. Each of the album’s nine tracks comes with an overwhelming feeling of déjà vu, with little to no variation between them. Even the centerpiece of ‘Run2Me’ doesn’t take its contrasting sound as far as it should, despite its best intentions.
Hit (But A Little Shit)
There are moments of scattered brilliance here, however – the subtle piano sweeps in ‘Being Beige’ add a nice dimension of nostalgia as well as the pseudo title track of ‘Monuments’ harbouring some sharp, catchy synth leads. It’s also refreshing to hear that Corgan’s voice hasn’t faltered in his 25+ years as a musician, albeit his lyrics are somewhat lackluster. “Dorian, what have you done?” echoes tumultuously throughout the penultimate ‘Dorian’, that it rapidly starts to lose any meaning it may have originally had.
Shit
None of the material here feels like a misstep, but Monuments To An Elegy is a very safe release. It’s an enjoyable little collection of songs to add to the vast catalogue of music that is The Smashing Pumpkins, but it could have largely benefited from a little risk-taking. What should have been an album in which Corgan demonstrates that he’s leaps and bounds ahead of his contemporaries, instead gives us the impression that he’s running in place.
Verdict: Shit
Admittedly this is a very fine line, because while The Smashing Pumpkins have settled into a sweet spot regarding their sound, it does occasionally come off more as regression rather than a cheeky nod to their glory days. Monuments To An Elegy is a mostly pleasant, if largely inoffensive release, and while die-hard Pumpkin fans are sure to find something to enjoy here, it’s hard to incite replay value for the casual listener.
Monuments To An Elegy is out December 12th via Cooking Vinyl
