14 illinoisentertainer . com september 2024
THE SMASHING PUMPKINS Aghori Mhori Mei
( Martha ’ s Music )
In many ways , the polar opposite of last year ’ s 33-song magnum opus Atum : A Rock Opera In Three Parts , Aghori Mhori Mei finds The Smashing Pumpkins returning to the loud guitars and winding , progressive song structures of their past . The differences don ’ t end at the album ' s sound but also the “ rollout ,” as they say in the business . Where Atum had a unique release model , slowly dripping out the 33 new songs , one new song a week on his Thirty-Three podcast , Aghori Mhori Mei was " flash-released " with little warning , all at once on streaming services . While it ’ s hard to say which method is better for cracking the algorithm , Atum stayed in the public conscience for nearly a year and then stayed longer as it soundtracked much of Billy ’ s new reality show on The CW network Adventures In Carnyland . A candid look at the life of Billy Corgan , the show covered his hectic life as a father and a bandleader , as well as being the owner of a tea house AND the National Wrestling Alliance ! It ’ s an often self-deprecating look at a wrestling promotor ’ s difficult life of writing storylines and filling seats ( NWA is the David to the WWE ’ s Goliath ) when he ’ s known for filling concert stadiums . All of this chaos builds nicely to Corgan ’ s lavish Highland Park wedding to his longtime partner , Chloe Mendel . Where Atum had many pop moments perfectly suited to soundtracking a wrestling ring entrance , this new album is more mercurial . Sometimes recalling the prog-metal of Kings X and sometimes the morphing soundscapes of ' 70s King Crimson , these ten songs aren ’ t interested in courting radio or soundtracking a reality show ; instead , they feel like a late-night listen with a good set of headphones at home . Some of it recalls the paranoid politics and crunchy guitars of 2007 ’ s Zeitgeist , where Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin reclaimed the Smashing Pumpkins mantle while the public complained and moaned that it wasn ’ t the same without the original quartet . Out of spite of the negative public response at the time , Corgan and company have kept Zeitgeist off all streaming platforms still to this
day . This new album stretches out those themes into a dense web of heavy psychedelia driven by the guitar attack of both Corgan and founding member James Iha , especially on opener “ Edin ,” which sports an iconic Pumpkins riff . Where ' 90s Pumpkins would take this riff to a pay-off radio-friendly chorus , the current band takes more twists and turns , ending up somewhere closer to a Scorpions-esque shred-fest . “ Pentagrams ” would be the closest thing here to resemble a single , but even though the track features a catchy chord progression , the creepy funhouse harpsichord brings it to a more obtuse space . “ 999 ” is a vast , lumbering slab of feral goth rock where drummer Jimmy Chamberlin takes the spotlight by absolutely throttling his kit . The only misstep here is the closer “ Murnau ,” which begins as a space-age ballad but then turns into an overblown , twisted military march that wouldn ’ t be out of place on an episode of Game Of Thrones . Where the past few albums have been fascinating flirtations with the world of synthpop , it ’ s genuinely exciting to hear them plug in their guitars and return to their hard rock roots on Aghori Mhori Mei .
- Andy Derer
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MYLES KENNEDY The Art Of Letting Go
( Napalm Records )
Myles Kennedy is one of the most prolific musicians in the game today . Balancing three full-time gigs proves that his in-demand status is highly warranted . While simultaneously fronting modern rockers Alter Bridge and Slash and the Conspirators with none other than Guns ’ N Roses ’ s Slash , Kennedy has time to bask in an equally successful solo career . Kennedy ’ s first solo album , 2018 ’ s Year of the Tiger , is mostly a collection of minimalistic acoustic songs , while his second album , 2021 ’ s Ides of March , contains tracks with a rootsy / folksy / Americana vibe . On his third solo album , The Art of Letting Go , Kennedy has made a compelling rock riff-oriented album by injecting heaps more aggression and heaviness into this album than his previous solo albums while retaining all his trademark soaring vocal harmonies . Kennedy ’ s guitar skills — which get overshadowed while performing as the frontman in Alter Bridge and
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