The Smashing Pumpkins release new song ‘Beguiled’
There was never a high concept that Billy Corgan didn’t like. Chalk it up to his childhood love of Rush, or maybe to his strong desire to separate his band, The Smashing Pumpkins, from the grunge explosion of the early 1990s. Maybe you could even tie it back to his love of professional wrestling. Whatever path you choose, Corgan and the Pumpkins are notorious for their ability to sprawl across the musical landscape.
Sometimes that works well, like on the era-defining masterpiece that is Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, and sometimes it bricks, like the abandoned Teargarden by Kaleidyscope project. But one thing is for sure: Corgan will never stop chasing that dragon of ambitious operatic rock music, no matter how ill-advised or self-indulgent it may be.
That’s why it should come as no surprise to hear that the next Smashing Pumpkins album will be a 33-song narrative opera entitled ATUM (pronounced like the season we’re about to get into). Subtitled A Rock Opera in Three Acts, ATUM will be the third release from the (mostly) reunited original lineup of the band featuring Jimmy Chamberlain and James Iha, plus longtime guitarist Jeff Shroeder.
If you really want to dive deep into all 33 songs that are set to be featured on ATUM, you can check out the new podcast Thirty-Three With William Patrick Corgan. On it, Corgan will discuss each of the album’s songs in chronological order, releasing each one separately leading up to the full album’s release in April of 2023. The podcast also features Corgan discussing the Pumpkins’ hits, deep cuts, and history. ATUM will come with a vinyl box set that includes ten more unreleased songs, if that’s your bag.
Today, we’re getting the first official single release from ATUM, even though there are two other songs that already have podcast episodes. ‘Beguiled’ is a strange mix of nü-metal guitars and electronic handclaps that eventually spiral into a fairly standard Smashing Pumpkins track. I doubt anybody except diehard Pumpkins fanatics are going to be swayed one way or the other by ‘Beguiled’, but it’s still a solid track from a band that is firmly sticking to their chosen path. There’s something admirable in that, isn’t there?
Listen to ‘Beguiled’ down below. ATUM is set for an April 21st release.
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