pumpkins sugarcoating more melancholy tunes
New York Post
by Dan Aquilante
Thanks to Eve for sending this review.
On Smashing Pumpkins fourth studio album, the musicians walk a tight rope between their edgy alternative pedigree and the heavy mellow of modern pop.
The 16 track Adore opens with perhaps the prettiest ballad on the disc. That song To Sheila marks Billy Corgan and company's new direction into gentle pop that makes its point quietly. Billy Corgan sings as if he has always worn a halo and his feet hardly press the earth when he walks. It's the kind of slow sway groove that may have been as uplifting to be sung as it is to listen to. It expresses vulnerability with strength and admits that even if your the most powerful rock god on the planet love makes it all even better.
Yes, the velvet arrangements are present throughout the disc, but don't believe that because chrome domed Corgan has no hair, that hes also toothless. just as you get comfortable with the Pumpkins nice and easy pumpkins pie that Corgan is serving up, he bares his teeth and bites you with a r ocker like Ava Adore, the albums first single. On Ava Adore, corgan croons about love over a locomotive chug rhythm again, but this time out, love is a drug and Billy feels the monkey on his back. The supercharged quality of the bands previous effort mellon Collie and the infinite Sadness, is missing here but, what has filled the void is a mature sound that will open the band up to an even wider audience than it already has. Songs such as the deceptively simple Tear will grab not only kids accustomed to the swirls of electronica, but also to the ears of parents, who might liken the tune to one of Bruce Springsteens darker compositions.
Those who like their rock fast and loud might accuse the pumpkins of getting soft. Smashing Pumpkins haven't even though the very best components of this excellent album are tunes with a tempered edge such as Daphne Descends and Ava Adore. on the down side in some of those heavier tunes corgans voice at its harshest, making one believe he was only meant to sing quietly.
If you like the Pumpkins even a little, Adore will probably nab your attention on the first listen. Still it is the subsequent spins when musics pop flair is revealed as only the sugar coating for the deeper darker musings of the man in the band.