[Forgotten Child]

CoS review

https://consequenceofsound.net/2018/...so-bright/amp/

The Verdict: It’s been a lonely 18 years for Corgan, filled with all sorts of unpredictable twists and turns commercially, critically, and culturally. Be it sour grapes, impossible compromises, or simply shitty cell phone service, Corgan has mostly been toiling away by his lonesome, trying to sell the Pumpkins name as his own spectacle. To his credit, he’s never been one to lean on the past, and say what you will about his execution, but his attempts have all at least been in the service of forging ahead towards some kind of future that doesn’t stand directly on ceremony.

Strangely enough, everything that Corgan was trying to run away from is what might move him forward. Although his roots are in the Midwest, he’s long dreamed of being the big LA rock star, playing arenas and saving the world. (For Christ’s sake, he wrote an entire concept album about it.) Those days are long gone — that’s less his fault and more a sign of the times — but he’s never been closer to that fantasy. After all, they’re playing arenas. They’re doing late-night shows. They’re working with Rick Rubin. It’s a magical time for Corgan, who no longer sounds as if he’s singing in an echo chamber.

But reuniting takes time. People change — artists especially — and it’d be foolish to assume that three friends, torn apart by bitterness and rage, would just somehow all of a sudden strike up the same ol’ magic. That was never going to happen, no matter how many bathrobes Rubin gave them in Malibu, but it’s certainly proven to be a start. After all, how else do you explain a song like “Silvery Sometimes (Ghosts)”? It might not be the same magic, but something magical is coursing through Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1., hinting at a future we can all embrace — especially Corgan.

Essential Tracking: “Silvery Sometimes (Ghosts)”, “With Sympathy”, and “Travels”