Smashing Pumkins - Oceania

I finally listened to the new Pumpkins album tonight and I have to admit once I got past the first two tracks I actually started to enjoy the modern era version of the band. "Quasar" and "Panopticon" are inherently the same song I couldn't find much difference between them honestly. But once "The Celestial's" began my ears perked up and I focused a little more on what was playing. I do find Billy sounding much more restrained here than on some of the bands overtly aggressive nasal tones from yesteryear. This is a more mature effort in too many ways to list but the best part of that is they are sounding cohesive again after too many Corgan ego trips carrying the Smashing Pumpkins name.

As Oceania plays through I am very impressed with most of what I hear even if some of it doesn't sound like the past. I don't care to hear them repeat their past successes in a carbon copy matter. I'd rather hear them doing music that they love which will always be more believable even it turned out to be bad, which this is not. The meek "My Love Is Winter" has a sentimental softness to it that has all the good of Corgan's songwriting skill. But I'm not sure about "One Diamond, One Heart" which sounds like it could be from a Robyn album. It just doesn't have the right ingredients to make it sail.

With that said "Pinwheels" does have the lush power that makes my ears happy. This track is one of Corgan's finest moments as a songwriter. The album continues to ebb and flow in the more folk side and then nods to the past with "The Chimera" which is about as close to their old sound as they get in 2012. The song is actually another very good tune and one that is worthy of their history for sure. More mid-tempo alt. rock is presented until the last track which is another melodic ballad that again I find more enchanting than I would have expected. "Wildflower" is a near perfect ending to the surprisingly strong album from a band that I had little expectation of at this point in their turmoil filled career.