GGLD AMERICN GOTHIC

American Gothic EP Smashing Pumpkins
Reviewed by: Aric Annear [Thu, January 03, 2008 @ 6:59:04 PM]

The utterly joyless chore of listening to even the four songs of this EP really makes you wonder when Billy Corgan is finally going to pack it in. This guy's come back in more incarnations than the Ford Mustang, and like the Mustang it's exponentially goofier every time. ("American Gothic"? Really? Did any amount of self-awareness go into making this disc?) Corgan's usual tuneless whine seems tired, exhausted even for him, like someone harried him out of bed and in front of a microphone at 6am. The arrangements are pure Los Angeles arpeggio-verse-to-three-chord-chorus schlock, with uneccessary orchestral flourishes and 27 equally-muted guitar tracks showing a predictable grab of breadth over depth. "Rose March", the song clearly meant to carry the EP, shows a tiny blip of life but only in a Hollywood soundtrack kind of way--like Goo Goo Dolls' "Iris", it's aimed straight at the heart and wallet of your dumbass 14-yr-old sister. There's a rumour that this guy used to play the guitar, not that you'd ever know it these days.

Rating: 2 out of 10
RIYL: aural masochism, carrying torches for washed-up has-beens, driving your sister to the mall [ BACK TO ALL ALBUM REVIEWS ]