Zeitgeist was just a big hunk of disappointment. The mix and in particular the focus on the vocals killed it stone dead. The only Pumpkins album I barely listen to. Some of the songs could be good but all are ruined to varying degrees. Many sounded a lot better live, confirming that the studio decisions were fucking awful. A remaster could salvage it but it'd take a lot of work.
Oceania, by contrast is a solid album. it's not SP1 and the drums are a big meh but there are few shudder-inducing moments. Saw the pre-release shows where they played about half the album and Pinwheels, Oceania and Pale Horse were great. This didn't quite carry over to the recordings but they're still good tracks. Coming after the misstep that was TbK it was encouraging, despite Byrne not being a good fit. But it didn't sell so it got tossed overboard.
Monuments I have mixed feelings about. I actually like quite a few of the songs but Billy phones in the lyrics somewhat which detracts. Like on the song Monuments, really like the track but the lyrics are lightweight.
In more than a decade of wrong turns the biggest error is probably abandoning the American Gothic sound. This is the route they should have continued on, imo.
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