Published in three installments Atum: A Rock Opera in Three Acts is the twelfth studio album Smashing Pumpkins the official successor of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness as well as Machina/The Machines of God.
A hallmark of the current incarnation of the Smashing Pumpkins is not only the little economic use of their three (!) guitarists, but above all the absolute waste of drum master Jimmy Chamberlain, who in most moments of Atum castrated with all his abilities as the most amateurishly programmed drum machine in the world was used.
Now, however, he gets at the end of the almost nine-minute Intergalactic (a number that begins as if it wants the dystopian galloping keyboard drivers of Muse copy, in order to take up a heroically rumbling tribal ride with a psychedelic touch towards the middle, but structurally but unfortunately has no fulfilling climax apart from the constant tightening of the tension curve) even almost concedes a kind of small solo (without, of course, enjoying freedoms beyond the domesticated reins).
Which is quite symptomatic for the localization of Act III is: after already the center piece of Atum Infiltrated the tranquil synth-pop robe of Part I with more riffs and guitars, Corgan lets the final segment mutate even more noticeably in this direction, even pulling the ambitions in the evolution to where the common ideas lie, which prolongs one Rock Oper has to be – and the Smashing Pumpkins even sound like over long stretches Smashing Pumpkins (or more correctly: a really solid shadow of their own iconography!).
Instead, the story of Shiny in their finally reached last third, the longest with 53 minutes playing time, even progressive forms.
Sojourner the smooth transition from succeeds Springtimes or a coherent entry into the autonomous structure, in which Corgan teaches the synth quark symphonic patience of the previous way, skillfully gets Jimmy off the bench, and his music radiates something fragile, fleeting and soulful in the melody up to the strong hook, as it would have to be vaguely confirmed that here behind a still too informal, the vocals obtrusively mixing production and unfortunately not completely left behind Atum-Root is still the genius pottering up Machina actually only launched Über albums. The fact that the pasted-over retro-futuristic bridge of the opener leads to a choral flourishing finale that burns up in a dead end, demonstrates that Corgan without a creative pole of friction at the producer’s chair is frittering away the existing potential, but working closer to his own strengths too frustratingly.
The more compact one is similar In Lieu of Failurewhich, as a crisp riff rocker with stoner tendencies, has repeated its “Alone“-Passage regurgitates while a promising idea is made into nothing more than a routine result that generates little or no emotional leverage. The one rushing around his dull guitar roast That Which Animates Spirit would be as much of an endorphin raising rocker as this Atum probably even possible – all the “Zero“But it’s just annoying.
The annoying not finding the point, the constant textual repetitions, the abrupt endings… many of the shortcomings of the two predecessors can still be found in the repertoire of this mammoth project, despite the most serious aesthetic ballast in the rear-view mirror.
Nevertheless, Corgan now succeeds in so many strong scenes that it hasn’t felt in ages. Again and again, after initial disbelief about the since Act I obtained increase in performance clear it at Act III with the best Pumpkins-Release since Oceania to have to do.
For example, when the rock opera without detours close to the wonderful legacy of Swan seeks – the soft The Canary Trainer has a comforting, latently dark 80s vibe over the tumultuous dance beat; Pacer indulges in unhurriedly jogging Dark Wave touches with sparkling nostalgia and great jumping backing vocals, even the ambient outro is conclusive; and that, although not forever in the memory Spellbinding rehearses the endorphin rocker released from kitsch: optimistic, exuberant, happy.
That lamented for far too long about its banal idea Armageddon works like a flippantly bouncing adaptation of the hard rockers’ current understanding of thrash Metallica(so also as a reminder that Corgan can no longer catch fat rockers effectively and thoughtfully on his own) but at least lets the solo nibble and is fun in a one-dimensional way before Fireflies as a Stranger Things-Episode begins and in consequence correspondingly elegiac reveling Electropop – again symbolic for Act III generally – veritably can.
That ended way too suddenly Cenotaph pleasantly airs the aesthetics with semi-acoustic flair and a calm flow, adorns itself and its sad-dark, worn-out, melodramatic charisma skilfully with retro-futuristic synths and the finely staged accompanying ladies: Somewhere on the way has Atum (in some respects, at least) still managed to turn the corner to relative subtlety. However, one does not really want to attest that this process has always been part of the conceptual goal of Corgan – the 56-year-old seems too desperate for any target groups (weezer‘esk) to run after.
Corgan still took the best for last. Almost at least. Because would be Of Wings as a final piece without getting going, not such an absolutely underwhelming, thoroughly indifferent clusterfuck meandering, would here in the final rating (as long as you don’t make the mistake and the works up to and including Zeitgeist as a benchmark, but solely on the basis of the previous level of Atum exceed expectations and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness completely deleted as a guide) even rounding up between the points can be considered.
As the light at the end of the tunnel, however, Corgan manages to correct the results for the entire work one way or another and at times even make amends for a tour de force of self-torture, self-dismantling, boredom and tastelessness that was far too stretched out. Which leads to a pretty incredible, all-around forgiving result: Atum has not become the personal Jump the Shark moment for one’s own fan existence, as it seemed in November 2022 to be the unavoidable case. There is much more after the successful Act III even aroused curiosity about what Zodion at Crystal Hall aka Shiny Vol. 3 so can.
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