It’s been an interesting few years in The Pumpkins’ camp. After spending a decade in a wilderness of half-released projects, lineup changes, and indifference, the return of founding members Jimmy Chamberlin and James Iha in 2018 has significantly righted the ship. The following years have seen the band rightly ascend to the status of respected elder statesmen, fans both new and old filling stadiums worldwide to catch one of the past three decades’ most singular acts. Rather than rest on their laurels – never frontman Billy Corgan’s strong point – and play the hits, the past six years have been incredibly prolific.
First came ‘Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1’, a somewhat warm-up album, and the sound of a band trying to get back in the saddle once more. This was quickly followed by ‘CYR’, a bloated synth-rock double album that soon became repetitive, and then 2023’s ‘ATUM’, a three-part release filled with plodding rockers and abrasive production. All this points to a band clearly feeling inspired and happy but in dire need of an edit and direction. Inaccessible concepts, tie-in podcasts, and dropping over thirty songs at once does not a good album necessarily make. This brings us to album thirteen, ‘Aghori Mhori Mei’, the long-fabled rock/guitar record surprise announced just two weeks before release, with no singles used as promotion.
From the opening guitar lick of ‘Edin,’ it’s clear that The Pumpkins are back and are ready to make a racket. Corgan, Chamberlin, and Iha lock in and drop the kind of earth-shaking groove many feared we’d never hear on record again. The signature wall of sound guitars boosted by Chamberlin’s trademark genius on the kit reminds listeners of how dangerous The Pumpkins can sound. It’s propulsive as hell and rocks the old socks off. It’s a fine opener. ‘Pentagrams’ follows, Corgan adding some melancholic lovelorn lyrics to his bruising bass work and discordantly spooky guitar licks. Couple this with an anthemic chorus, and you’ve got another winner. For the first time in a long time, this is the sound of a band playing, the original member’s chemistry shining through on record in a way people have been waiting for since 2018.
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Outside the headbangers, ‘Pentecost’ sees the group get sweepingly romantic once more with a lush string arrangement, while ‘Who Goes There’ has the trio produce a bittersweet pop song in a way only they can. It’s so catchy we even forgive Corgan for rhyming Katmandu in the lyrics. A constant criticism of the recent albums has been a lack of dynamics, Corgan’s voice being too high in the mix, and some word-salad lyrics. While these persist to some degree on ‘Aghori Mhori Mei’, the sound is a massive improvement over ‘CYR’ and ‘ATUM’, with songs given more air to breathe when needed. Still, working with an outside producer to capture the contrasting dark and dreamy tones the band excels at would be an excellent forward move.
Corgan stated that while recording, the band looked back at how they made music from 1990 to 1996, not in an effort to recapture past glories but rather as a means to move forward. On the strength of these ten tracks, it’s mission accomplished. This is very much the sound of The Smashing Pumpkins circa 2024 but installed with some of the old fire that made them so beloved in the first place. Album thirteen not only acts as the best thing The Pumpkins has released in over a decade but also an exciting indicator of things hopefully to come – a welcome surprise from one of rocks most unpredictable acts.
8/10
Words: Sam Walker-Smart
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