Zeitgeist

Zeitgeist, the newest Smashing Pumpkins album, was released in the U.S. on July 10, 2007. I remember Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness mostly for the singles, especially Bullet with Butterfly Wings. What I notice most about this release is the totally recognizable and unique sound of Billy Corgan's work. More so than almost any other album I'm listening to right now, Zeitgeist is a coherent album rather than a collection of songs. This is, of course, partly due to the fact that the Pumpkins' sound is so unusual, but I have the feeling that many of the songs from Siamese Dream or Mellon Collie wouldn't sound right on this album. It's like a planet, and each track is a different aerial shot. Songs like Neverlost and Bleeding the Orchid are like high aerial shots, surveying the planet and setting the tone of the rest of the album.



Both remind me of the Pixies "Where is My Mind," especially in terms of the haunting choral background. In both cases the effect is to create a haunting, wide open atmosphere that imparts a sense of yearning to the music. Amongst these album defining tracks are others like "Bring the Light." If Neverlost is an aerial survey of a country, Bring the Light is a snapshot of a city block: a different sound and feeling, but undeniably part of the larger whole.



I especially like the solo at 2:00 of this song. It's got the usual guitar layering, but what I really like is that it's a short, punchy, powerful solo set in a much more wandering soundscape. The way it drives the song for 20 seconds is a really cool contrast to the solo at the end of Neverlost, which rides along with the background rather than cutting through it. There are little quirks like this all over the album; right when you think you're descending into a melancholy abyss, you're woken up with angry hard rock. Though it's not always what you'd expect, Zeitgeist is a really satisfying listen as an entire album. Do yourself a favor and throw it on headphones when you have a chance to listen to the whole thing uninterrupted. The first few times I listened to it piecemeal I was totally unimpressed, but since getting a sense for the whole thing its been one of my favorite albums.