More about: The Smashing Pumpkins

Buy Tickets To The Smashing Pumpkins 2019

Billy Corgan looking miserable on a rollercoaster ride is one meme seared into my brain forever. “What the fuck do you want from me?” he responded to the viral photograph. A new Smashing Pumpkins album would be nice, please Mr Corgan.

The alt rock band have been toying with releasing a couple of EPs, but instead have bunged us a new album called Shiny and Oh So Bright / Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun.

Continuing the band’s tradition for long album titles, this one is Smashing Pumpkins’ first in four years since Monuments To An Elegy. Fans will perhaps be pleased to know this new release features all its founding members present and correct, so that’s the first album with this lineup since 2000’s Machina / The Machines of God.

With their favourite producer Rick Rubin still firmly at the helm, the band have just shared their first single ‘Silvery Sometimes (Ghosts)’. Do you think it’s a move on from their last album? Make up your mind by having a quick listen.



What a difference having some founding members on board makes. Corgan's been hinting at this for some months now, as we said back in June. James Iha back on guitar is brilliant. Smashing Pumpkins sound upbeat, tight, confident and happy to be in each other’s company. At least, so far so good from this new single - there’s a real Mellon Collie vibe here.

No D’arcy Wretzky on board, though, because of her feud with Corgan.

Just around the time of David Bowie’s death, we spoke to frontman William Patrick Corgan about the future of Smashing Pumpkins, who was feeling very righteous about the future of music - have a read here.

If you like the sound of how this album’s shaping up so far, you’ll be able to buy the whole thing on 16 November via Napalm. There’s also plenty of merch including long sleeve t-shirts - very 90s indeed.

The Smashing Pumpkins have just one UK date at the Wembley Arena on 16 October, so get in quick.

More about: The Smashing Pumpkins