The Smashing Pumpkins remain an undeniable force in alternative rock with their 11th studio album, Cyr
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07.12.2020

The Smashing Pumpkins remain an undeniable force in alternative rock with their 11th studio album, Cyr

Words by Sally Poehland

Cyr is out worldwide now!

Fans of The Smashing Pumpkins will not be disappointed with the band’s highly-anticipated eleventh studio album, Cyr.

Boasting a combination of screeching synthesizers, catchy pop tunes and dark and deep alternative rock anthems the band are famous for, this album successfully combines the old with the new.

As described by lead singer Billy Corgan himself, “Cyr represents, at least symbolically, the makings of a dissociative life, which best as we can tell is modern life: as presented through a variety of sources; past, present, and future.”

Formed in Chicago, IL in 1988, The Smashing Pumpkins released their heralded debut album Gish in 1991 and found mainstream success with 1993’s 4x multi-platinum Siamese Dream and 1995’s 10x multi-platinum Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. The band has released seven additional studio albums; Adore, Machina/The Machines of God, Machina II/The Friends and Enemies of Modern Music, Zeitgeist, Oceania, Monuments to an Elegy and their last full-length, Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol 1 / LP: No Past, No Future, No Sun.

The new 20-track double album was produced by Corgan in Chicago and joined by fellow founding members Jimmy Chamberlin, James Iha and guitarist Jeff Schroeder.

Since August, the Grammy Award-winning, alternative rock luminaries have been releasing a steady stream of tunes including the album title track ‘Cyr’ – a dark, spacey sounding pop extravaganza reminiscent of Pet Shop Boys ‘West End Girls.’

Opening track ‘The Color of Love,’ starts with echoed undertones and slowly builds to a catchy chorus before fading back out.

This is followed by ‘Confessions of a Dopamine Addict,’ starring funky synthesizers and deep drums and showcasing the unmistakable eerie voice of Corgan.

The album then takes listeners back to the alternative sounds of the ’90s with the much heavier tracks ‘Wyttch’ and ‘Purple Blood”.

The album then successfully blends both the darker and deeper alternative punk soundings with melodic pop in “Save Your Tears,” and ending with the catchy “Tyger Tyger and Minerva.”

It is clear with the bands latest offering that the multiple GRAMMY®, MTV VMA, and American Music Award-winning band remains an undeniable force in alternative rock.

Cyr is out worldwide now!