MattA75's Full Review: Lull [EP] by Smashing Pumpkins
When all is said and done, it very well could be that the Smashing Pumpkins are looked back on as the greatest musical outfit of the 1990s, and lead singer/guitarist Billy Corgan as the greatest songwriter of this current generation.
Sure, after the success of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, the band stumbled a bit with regards to what a casual fan would try to accept in Adore, and their exit after their final albums (Machina and Machina II, which was released only on the internet), and this has hurt their current image. But what one forgets is that long before the band developed into the highly experimental juggernaut they became, they were an extremely talented four piece rock band that wrote great rock songs.
Lull is an EP made up of one song from the band's debut, Gish, two unreleased tracks from the same sessions, and a demo from 1989.
Early Smashing Pumpkins material can usually be summed up in a few simple phrases: swirling guitars, gorgeous choruses, and some of the best drumming this side of Matt Cameron on Jesus Christ Pose. Jimmy Chamberlain is an extremely awesome drummer who continuously blows me away with his ability on the early Pumpkins releases.
Rhinoceros is the first song on this EP, and it is the song that can also be found on Gish. It's a somewhat lush ballad type number until the last 1/3 or so of the song, where the tension is snapped by some insane guitar riffing and some great powerhouse fills by Chamberlain.
Blue follows and it's a great little driving rock song, propelled by some out of control tomahawk beats by Chamberlain and a heavy bass line by bassist D'arcy. Skunk continues the heavy assault on the ears with a beat and some guitar work that makes the song sound like an extremely early version of Cherub Rock.
The closing Bye June is a sensitive and emotive acoustical type ballad, the type of song Corgan came to become quite good at writing later on in his career.
Lull is a great EP, with all 4 songs deserving multiple spins in your player. The only problem is that it can be quite a b*tch to find, as it is all but out of print. I found it at my local Best Buy, so maybe look there. Either way, I don't think any Pumpkins collection is complete without it.
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