The Smashing Pumpkins
MACHINA / the machines of God
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For Adore, the Smashing Pumpkins' album prior to MACHINA/the machines of God, singer Billy Corgan promised a 'pretty' album. He delivered. Lo rise synthscapes, mechanical beats and slanted love songs that made you want to cry. It was a noble effort with plenty of quiet time to reflect on the world, post Mellon Collie. The problem was, nobody seemed to care.

For the new millennium, the Pumpkins return to the blisters and the battle fields. "You know I'm not dead," Corgan belts just before his a cappella rap on the opening track. It's a flip to the world that once crowned him king and then didn't quite follow through. But it's also a deceptive form of introspective. It's this familiar combination on the first single, "The Everlasting Gaze", and many other songs, that glues the Pumpkins back together again.

Machina marks the return of spitfire drummer Jimmy Chamberlain. Along with producer Flood at the wheel, the music is thick and heavy with distortion while the themes stretch and probe Corgan's favorite subjects. Ya know, the big three? love, death, God. These ideas are everywhere, from the enigmatic images and album title to the slippery metaphors that appear in nearly every line.

Beneath the volume and rant you can hear the sensitive boy try to whisper on tracks like "Heavy Metal Machine" and "The Imploding Voice." Still, the quiet moments are the most telling. On "I of the Mourning" it's hard to know if Corgan is lamenting a lost lover or a higher chart position as he calls out to his radio.

When he whines on songs like "Try, Try, Try" or the woozy dream of "This Time," Corgan uses the obvious limitations of his voice to let us know he means business. He always meant it, but now it's a more mature knowing. "For every chemical you trade a piece of your soul." Surely Jimmy agrees. Well, maybe.

Oddly enough, the most revealing moment of this disc is not in the lyrics or the fuzz junkie guitar assault. Midway through "Glass and the Ghost Children" Corgan talks about the voices in his head. Maybe it's God, maybe he's going nuts. But it sure doesn't sound rehearsed.

No doubt, MACHINA/the machines of God is directed towards the hardcore fan base. Although the shameless pop of old singles like "1979" is nowhere to be found, this disc speaks with an unfiltered voice that is not concerned with making a 'pretty' album.

But don't be fooled. The Pumpkins know how to write those killer pop tunes. On Machina, they simply choose not to.

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