Music review of the Smashing Pumpkins' new cd Machina/The Machines of God
Smashing Pumpkins** Machina/The Machines of God (Virgin) Chicago natives Smashing Pumpkins join Pearl Jam in being one of only two bands of the early 1990s that still holds the grunge banner high. But while front man Billy Corgan and Co. have always been known for fresh material and a flair for experimentation, the Pumpkins’ latest offering is exceptionally flat. Little more than a rehash of punk rock tones à la Sex Pistols and The Damned — interspersed with a handful of emotionless ballads Nirvana’s deceased king of grunge Kurt Cobain would never have endorsed — Machina/The Machines of God is a rotten fruit in the Pumpkins’ patch.