Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun.

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun.
File:Shiny and Oh So Bright Vol. 1.jpeg
Studio album by The Smashing Pumpkins
Released November 16, 2018 (2018-11-16)[1]
Recorded February–June 2018
Studio Shangri La Studios, Malibu, California
Genre Alternative rock[2]
Length 31:48
Label
Producer Rick Rubin[3]
The Smashing Pumpkins chronology
Monuments to an Elegy
(2014)		 Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun.
(2018)		 Cyr
(2020)
Singles from Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun.

Shiny and Oh So Bright Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun. (stylized in all caps) is the tenth studio album by the American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins, released on November 16, 2018 through Napalm Records.[1][3] Produced by Rick Rubin, it is the band's first album to feature founding members James Iha and Jimmy Chamberlin since Machina II/The Friends and Enemies of Modern Music (2000) and Zeitgeist (2007), respectively.[4]

Initially planned as two four-song EPs, the release was preceded by the singles "Solara", "Silvery Sometimes (Ghosts)", and "Knights of Malta", and reached number fifty-four on the US Billboard 200 chart.

Background and recording

In early February 2018, it was announced that original members James Iha and Jimmy Chamberlin had rejoined the band. The reunited line-up, alongside longtime guitarist Jeff Schroeder, started production on new material in February 2018 with Rick Rubin producing, the first time he had worked with the band since the Adore album cycle. Recording took place at Shangri La recording studio, Malibu, California. The group originally presented eight song demos to Rubin with the intention of releasing one as a comeback single.[5] After Rubin approved of all eight, the group planned two four-song EPs, the first of which was originally scheduled to be released in May 2018.[6] In September 2018, it was announced that the EPs would take the form of a full-length album.[3] Former bassist D'arcy Wretzky claims Iha and Rubin's involvement in the album was limited, saying "He [Iha] was only involved in the one Rick Rubin song. Billy’s got a lot of nerve going out there saying Rick recorded the whole album. He only had a week to record one song."[7]

In early 2020, while recording the band's follow-up album, Cyr, Corgan retroactively dismissed Shiny and Oh So Bright's status as a full studio album: "When we got back together with James, we went in with Rick Rubin and did eight songs. It was put out as a formal album, but I said at the time — and I did mean it — in my eyes, it wasn’t an album. We didn’t approach it like we’ve approached every other album we’d ever done, which is more like making a movie."[8]

Release and promotion

The album's first single, "Solara", was released on June 8, 2018.[9][10] The second single "Silvery Sometimes (Ghosts)" was released on September 13, 2018.[11] The opening track "Knights of Malta" was secretly released as a private YouTube video on November 7, 2018.[12]

Lead single "Solara" was performed live on national television on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Monday, June 11, 2018.[13]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 65/100[15]
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 4/5 stars[16]
Consequence of Sound B[17]
Exclaim! 4/5 stars[18]
NME 4/5 stars[19]
Pitchfork 3.4/10[20]
PopMatters 3/5 stars[21]
Rolling Stone 2/5 stars[22]
Slant 3/5 stars[23]
Spectrum Culture 2.5/5 stars[24]
Spin Magazine 4/5 stars[25]

The album received generally positive reviews.[26]

Consequence of Sound gave the album a B and named it album of the week.[17] AllMusic claimed "Corgan delivers something unexpected: music that's rich but settled, music that plays to his strengths, music where he seems happy in his own skin."[27] NME remarked "The heavier moments refuse to act as a sledegehammer of alt-rock pastiche, which this record could so easily have been. Instead, it’s a showcase of songcraft that’s allowed to breathe and reveal itself. Bring on volume two. The dream lives on."[28] Spin Magazine noted "All signs pointed to Shiny and Oh So Bright ... as an authoritative step back on track."[29]

Exclaim! was mixed on the album, stating "At only eight tracks, it's the shortest Smashing Pumpkins full-length and it feels less grandiose than most of their work simply due to that brevity, which makes it harder to measure against their other LPs--although it easily blows the last album out of the water and is more immediately catchy than Zeitgeist."[30] DIY Magazine reported "There’s not much in the way of stylistic cohesion, either, and you wonder whether that’s simply because the creativity was flowing out of the almost-fully-reformed lineup or simply because Billy felt confident in following his every whim."[31]

Rolling Stone published a more negative review, giving the album 2 out of 5 stars. Christopher R. Weingarten, writing for Rolling Stone, states that "no amount of Adore-ation can excuse the absolute maelstrom of inconsequential material that Pumpkins leader Billy Corgan, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin have made in the 18 years since they’ve played on a Smashing Pumpkins record together." Weingarten concludes his review, stating "[s]ave the few fire-breathing dragon moments of Lollapalooza-era churn, it’s the Smashing Pumpkins in name only, and that ice cream truck has long left the gas station."[32]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Billy Corgan, except where noted. 

Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun. track listing
No. Title Length
1. "Knights of Malta"   4:37
2. "Silvery Sometimes (Ghosts)"   3:31
3. "Travels"   5:23
4. "Solara"   4:22
5. "Alienation"   5:01
6. "Marchin' On"   2:39
7. "With Sympathy"   3:30
8. "Seek and You Shall Destroy"   2:45
Total length:
 31:48

Personnel

The Smashing Pumpkins

Additional musicians

  • The Section Quartet – strings on "Knights of Malta" and "Alienation"
    • Daphne Chen – violin
    • Richard Dodd – cello
    • Eric Forman – violin
    • Leah Katz – viola
  • Charissa Nielsen, Briana Lee, Missi Hale – additional background vocals on "Knights of Malta"

Production

  • Rick Rubin – production
  • Dana Nielsen – recording, mixing
  • Jason Lader – additional recordings, strings recording
  • Davis Spreng – additional recordings
  • Vlado Meller – mastering

Charts

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Shiny and Oh So Bright Album announcement", NME, September 14, 2018. Retrieved on September 27, 2018.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Smashing Pumpkins Announce Details of Reunion Album, Out in November", Consequence of Sound, September 14, 2018. Retrieved on September 27, 2018.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ D'arcy interview
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ "Smashing Pumpkins Preview New Album With ‘Silvery Sometimes (Ghosts)’ Song", Rolling Stone, September 14, 2018. Retrieved on September 27, 2018.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – The Smashing Pumpkins – Shiny and Oh So Bright - Vol. 1" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  35. ↑ "Ultratop.be – The Smashing Pumpkins – Shiny and Oh So Bright - Vol. 1" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
  36. ↑ "Ultratop.be – The Smashing Pumpkins – Shiny and Oh So Bright - Vol. 1" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
  37. ↑ "Illegal name entered The Smashing Pumpkins/The+Smashing+Pumpkins/chart?f=309 The Smashing Pumpkins – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for The Smashing Pumpkins. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  38. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – The Smashing Pumpkins – Shiny and Oh So Bright - Vol. 1" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – The Smashing Pumpkins – Shiny and Oh So Bright - Vol. 1" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
  41. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  43. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  44. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  45. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
  46. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  47. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – The Smashing Pumpkins – Shiny and Oh So Bright - Vol. 1". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
  48. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
  49. ↑ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  50. ↑ Illegal name entered The Smashing Pumpkins/The+Smashing+Pumpkins/chart?f=305 "The Smashing Pumpkins – Chart history" Billboard 200 for The Smashing Pumpkins. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  51. ↑ "Illegal name entered The Smashing Pumpkins/The+Smashing+Pumpkins/chart?f=326 The Smashing Pumpkins – Chart history" Billboard Independent Albums for The Smashing Pumpkins. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  52. ↑ "Illegal name entered The Smashing Pumpkins/The+Smashing+Pumpkins/chart?f=794 The Smashing Pumpkins – Chart history" Billboard Top Alternative Albums for The Smashing Pumpkins. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  53. ↑ "Illegal name entered The Smashing Pumpkins/The+Smashing+Pumpkins/chart?f=408 The Smashing Pumpkins – Chart history" Billboard Top Rock Albums for The Smashing Pumpkins. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  54. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Shiny_and_Oh_So_Bright,_Vol._1_/_LP:_No_Past._No_Future._No_Sun.&oldid=726703009"