Rating 3.5/5
American alternative rock band Smashing Pumpkins recently released their eleventh studio album, “CYR,” which is the second part of the band’s “Shiny and Oh So Bright” series of albums. Their album has twenty tracks of synth-pop and is their most ambitious release ever since the band’s 2000 break-up. The current lineup includes Billy Corgan as the lead vocalist, James Iha and Jeff Schroeder on guitars, Jimmy Chamberlin on drums, and Katie Cole and Sierra Swan as backing vocalists.
The opening track, “The Colour of Love,” is a hard-rock anthem that establishes the album’s futuristic sound and shows the band’s desire to evolve past their original alternative rock sound. Corgan cries out for a past lover, accompanied with a vibrant synth bass track and rhythmic guitars. The song shows off both Corgan’s ability as a pop writer and his refinements and strengths as a producer.
The songs that shine most brightly on “CYR” are the short, intense tracks that show off the energy of the band. On “Anno Santana,” Iha’s powerful guitar complements Corgan’s occult-oriented lyrics and exclamations. “Wyttch” encapsulates the madness and chaos of Halloween with loud vocals that draw the listener into the album’s world of demons. Both of these tracks masterfully use lively bass synths and guitar riffs to create an immersive listening experience.
However, after every one of these vibrant pop hits comes a slower-paced ballad, causing the album’s pace to slow down to a grinding halt every few songs. Songs like “Wrath” and “Dulcet in E” should have been placed at the end of the album, but instead their current listing dulls and ruins the album’s tempo. Track listing has been an issue ever since Smashing Pumpkins’ fifth studio album “Machina/The Machines of God,” and I’m disappointed to see these same issues on “CYR.”
The album’s lyrics orient towards a darker, gothic vibe, which fits Corgan’s whiny yet profound voice. The album’s songs are mainly about the bittersweetness of love and include many references to Roman and Greek myths. Although catchy, the lyrics sound like they were thrown onto the page by Corgan after he looked into an anthology of myths and picked out the coolest-sounding words. Corgan’s immature and nonsensical word choices weaken even the strongest of tracks and make me want to listen to the instrumental versions instead.
The Smashing Pumpkins have noticeably changed their typical vocals, as the band has added female backing vocals on a majority of the songs. Cole and Swan give a refreshing feeling to “CYR,” as the band rarely had any female vocals on past albums save for one or two songs. Having three singers creates an layered sound that adds to the album’s grand and mystic atmosphere, as heard on tracks like “Adrennalynne” and “Schaudenfreud.”
When it comes to deciding which tracks should make the album, Corgan needs an editor. Having 20 tracks on the album makes the listening experience strenuous, which becomes even worse when there are tracks like “The Hidden Sun” and “Starrcraft” that sound exactly the same. If the album was cut down to just the eight powerhouse pop tracks, “CYR” would be a much more memorable album. Instead, the double album is littered with filler tracks that make some segments a chore to listen through.
Overall, “CYR” does show some promise for the future of Smashing Pumpkins with some of their best tracks in years. However, a double album is too self-indulgent for the group just after coming back together, which shows on repetitive melodies and uncontrolled track placement. I look forward to the group’s sequel to their 1995 album “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness” in 2021, but for now, the Smashing Pumpkins still need to find ground to land on.