I really like Adore. It’s different, no doubt, and quite a bit sadder than previous work. But it still maintains the essence of the Pumpkins. The drenched soundscapes are still there, the sprawling vision is still there, and the lyrics are incredibly beautiful. The additional synths are catchy and a welcome switch up from the previous three guitar-happy albums. You could argue that its variety is a step down from Mellon Collie instrumentally and thematically; that said, it’s does have a great distribution between bangers (Perfect, Daphne Descends, The Tale of Dusty and Pistol Pete) and sadder songs (Crestfallen, For Martha, Blank Page).
If there’s one sleeper hit it’s got to be Crestfallen. For no logical reason, either– the song runs on a single motif basically the whole way through. But there’s just a certain melancholic charm to it, more so than its compatriots, which has me hooked. Reminds me somewhat of Take Me Down, off Mellon Collie (another absolute sleeper). On the other hand, I haven’t caught on to Ava Adore, which seems to run parallel to Bullet with Butterfly Wings. They’ve both got too many servings of angst.
I ran Adore with negative expectations the first time and was surprised at how good it was. The opener grabs you tight and the rest of it doesn’t look back. The ending is crushingly emotional and one of the most memorable of the Pumpkins’ albums I’ve heard so far. Recency bias exists, but as of now I’d venture to put this baby on a similar level as Siamese Dream, if not quite up there with Mellon Collie. It’s just super solid and I would even say it has some of the most consistent quality, front-to-back, of all of the Pumpkins’ 90s albums. Yeah, Corgan’s more than slightly sentimental– but good music is good music. Yeah, that cover’s somewhat questionable– but good music is good music. Yeah, it’s kinda emo– but that’s no reason Tear’s opening roll can’t hit like a truck at 2am.
Gish next 🙂
Recommendations: Tear, Crestfallen, For Martha