The Smashing Pumpkins
CYR

The Smashing Pumpkins arrive with this "CYR" at their eleventh studio album, as well as the second one after the much-publicized return of the historical (and fundamental) guitarist James Iha to the lineup.

Billy Corgan and company go back to tackling, twenty-five years after that epochal masterpiece "Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness," with the double album format. The tracks in this new work are indeed twenty, and all share a common denominator: the Pumpkins decisively turn towards synth pop, a genre for which good Billy has never hidden a particular fondness.

The new work indeed seems to continue a conversation already hinted at with the vastly underrated "Adore" from 1998, and especially with his now dated solo debut "TheFutureEmbrace"; synthesizers take the forefront at the expense of the marked guitar work of the American band (confirmed in the pseudo-back-to-basics approach of the previous work). An exception is the very dark "Wyttch," one of the five double singles that anticipated the release of "CYR," where Iha's guitar and Jimmy Chamberlin's heavy drums dominate.

For the rest, synths and female choirs (courtesy of Katie Cole, already on tour with the Pumpkins for five years, and Sierra Swan) go on to build a perfectly balanced sound (brilliantly produced by Corgan himself, after the Rick Rubin interlude). Chamberlin also, in agreement with Corgan, chose for "CYR" a drum sound reminiscent of certain prog rock bands from the early seventies, very dry and tight, reducing frills to the bare necessities.

Twenty tracks are certainly a lot, and on a couple of occasions, the temptation to skip becomes really strong ("Dulcet in E," "Haunted," "Tyger, Tyger"); but when Corgan hits the gas and nails the right melody, there's real fun to be had, as instantly clarified by the splendid opener "The Colour Of Your Love," between "Machina" and The Cure, or the lead single "Cyr," perhaps the best Pumpkins release in a long time (and its placement between Abba and the atmospheres of "Adore" helps a lot).

But the good things don't stop there: "Purple Blood" is dark and menacing in its foggy and unsettling sound carpet, and Billy obviously revels in it as if it were his natural habitat. "Save Your Tears" is the highlight of the album, among the best of the last fifteen years for the American band, while "Minerva" closes a bit à la Killers, unleashing the best refrain of the album.

The historical fans of the Chicago four will have something to complain about, but Corgan and company seem determined to go straight down their path. We just have to wait for the most risky project of the bald dark prince of rock, namely the announced sequel to "Mellon Collie..."

That's when things will really get heavy.

Best Track: Save Your Tears