When will we admit Oceania rules?

[ninsp]

Other than Mikey, album slaps and is a spectacular mood. Production is crisp, vocals are better (except Wildflower), lyrics are decent (bad in spots such as Quasar) and guitars do roar now. Even the toy box synths are mastered right.

Idk, maybe as I’ve gotten older, I’ve just appreciated the vibe he was going for here but it’s really good. Maybe it’s just that the new stuff is so bad.

[T&T]

Originally Posted by ninsp

it’s just that the new stuff is so bad.

this.

but not about being bad.. just relatively worse. and it's going to keep going in that way. one day billy will release something worse than atum and we'll retrospectively begin to appreciate it. its' a sustainable model because you can ALWAYS eventually do worse.

[ninsp]

In my defense I liked Oceania from day 1. I like it a lot more now though. It seems sincere. He actually sings with emotion.

[Morlock]

There are a bunch of good tracks, but occasionally you guys need to listen to Drown or For Martha or whatever just to remember that music can be much better than Oceania or any other post 2000 Pumpkins.

[TheAlter]

That's methed up

By the time Oceanina came out the clown show was already up and running. So much so that now you realize Monumentz is basically a more restrained ATUM. The synths are there, the brittle guitars are there.

[VoxUpDoc]

It’s the worst SP2.0 album by a considerable distance. The thing has no energy whatsoever.

Even Teargarden beats it because it has Lightning, Tom Tom & Cottonwood.

ATUM…. Ehhhh…. when I finally sit down and listen to ATUM properly there’s still likely a few tracks that are better than anything on Oceania… maybe…

[LaBelle]

Midlife crisis album where billy surrounded himself with people half his age singing about kissing people half his age?

Hard pass.

[houseofglass11]

A handful of ok tracks at best. Some terrible synths and overly proggy.

[Ram27]

each new record gets worse and worse which makes the old stuff seem better and better

so yeah oceania isn't bad at all

[ninsp]

Originally Posted by Ram27

each new record gets worse and worse which makes the old stuff seem better and better

so yeah oceania isn't bad at all

I think Zeitgeist is still kinda trash, but Oceania is good

[RAWK]

Sorry, but it's objectively bad. No matter how many times I try, it's just crap. Soulless, empty, sloppy crap.

[phang]

I liked Oceania as an album, no problems in saying so. I also thought the live performance I saw in that era was pretty good. It was nice to get an album too after the fuckaround with Teargarden and songs being released one by one.

If only we knew then what we know now...

[ilikeplanets]

Even the only track I like, The Celestials, is not really great. This is the first instance I remember him claiming to be "going back to the Siamese Dream sound" and we got fucking Inkless and Glissandra. Ew. I hated it then and hate it now.

KRISHNA RIDE ON

[T&T]

I don't like how Oceania fits into the MCIS/MACHINA/ATUM story. it's just kind of awkwardly sits there...

[Butt Pope]

I will be honey nut Cheerios

[enthusaroo]

Production was pretty good on Oceania.. not sure WHAT THE FUCK happened between Oceania and Cyr/ATUM where production sucks ass now.

the synths sounded pretty decent on Oceania.. and on Cyr / ATUM it sounds like a Casio keyboard

[Ram27]

yeah what style is this even? nothing else sounds this shitty

[eviltimeban]

The drums sound boxy but that was sort of a thing back in the early 10s. Drums are being recorded a little better these days (not by SP).

[New Art Rioter]

Originally Posted by enthusaroo

Production was pretty good on Oceania.. not sure WHAT THE FUCK happened between Oceania and Cyr/ATUM where production sucks ass now.

the synths sounded pretty decent on Oceania.. and on Cyr / ATUM it sounds like a Casio keyboard

Was plenty of complaining around Teargarden era aka the introduction of the circus synths back in 2009. Would suggest maybe Bjorn Thorsrud made them sound vaguely OK on Oceania but he worked on Teargarden too

[LaBelle]

I don't know anything about production. but the last album that has sounded anywhere close to a real band album was zeitgeist (ironically, I know). Everything after has this "small" sound and sounds more like demos or unfinished tracks.
Though tbh the last album to truly sound great was Adore.

[enthusaroo]

Originally Posted by Ram27

yeah what style is this even? nothing else sounds this shitty

it's called Soft Circus Synth

[Disco King]

Oceania isn't a bad album, but that doesn't make it a good album.

If you already have an emotional investment in this band, you will listen to this album on repeat trying to find things you like about it and hoping to convince yourself that the old magic is still there.

If this is the first SP album you've ever heard, it will likely also be the last SP album you'll ever hear. Not because you hate it, but because it won't make a striking impression on you.

It sounds like it's made by the same guy who made Siamese Dream. But like the guy is old and tired and boring now. It might make you weigh the relative merit of making recognizable music that is a pale imitation of past glories and making music that is a complete departure from past styles but also lacks anything that made people like your past work. Is it more admirable to make something awful that at the very least is territory you haven't explored yet? You will then realize that instead of carefully comparing and contrasting two uninspiring works, your time is better spent listening to music you actually enjoy by other artists.

Unless you're one of us, in which case you will continue to follow this band and discuss their new works despite never having anything positive to say about them.

[phang]

[TheAlter]

Look at the joy on that fellow, a brave young man looking with hope towards the future. That's a face that speaks reason, honesty, purity of mind.

Now look at the souless gaze of the liar, the used car salesman expression, the fake posture, there is nothing behind those glassy eyes that stare at you...

[ilikeplanets]

Idk DK, I don't think Oash resembles SD at all. It doesn't sound like the same band to me.

[ilikeplanets]

Billy Corgan is the only thing they both share. I was going to say Billy Corgan is the only unchanged factor, but he definitely changed.

[houseofglass11]

Originally Posted by TheAlter

Look at the joy on that fellow, a brave young man looking with hope towards the future. That's a face that speaks reason, honesty, purity of mind.

Now look at the souless gaze of the liar, the used car salesman expression, the fake posture, there is nothing behind those glassy eyes that stare at you...

Yeah but that second guy can you get you a smokin deal on a gently used 2019 Honda CR-V, with low mileage, low apr and low monthly payments. Can Mikey do that??

[T&T]

why did mikey get so fat? what kind of injections was he taking?

[Disco King]

I dunno, "Quasar" sounds like an uncool boomer version of "Cherub Rock" (and "Cherub" is already probably the least challenging track on SD). A lot of the Oceania tracks sound recognizably Pumpkinsy, but in a "phoning it in" way. Like, "yeah, it's got fuzzy guitars and phased solos and shit; I can see how the guy who made 'Silverfuck' made this 20 years later, but this is no 'Silverfuck'."

[ilikeplanets]

It sounds like if someone were to try to rip off a vaguely SP sound but was afraid to be obvious