Released: 2012

Genres: Alternative Rock

The Musiquarium’s Oceania Review Score: 6.5 out of 10

After reuniting with Jimmy Chamberlin in 2006 and releasing Zeitgeist the next year, Chamberlin eventually left the band once again, leaving Billy Corgan as the only original member remaining in the band. Following several standalone singles, Oceania was released as an “album within an album” as part of the ongoing Teargarden By Kaleidoscope project that started back in 2010.

Quasar is a solid opener to the album, but starts off a little too similarly to the superior Cherub Rock from Siamese Dream. The title track is a 9 minute epic with an acoustic middle section. Panopticon and The Chimera are solid rockers, with the latter having those fuzzy guitars that were such a staple of the band in the nineties. The synthesizer of Pinwheels and One Diamond, One Heart stand out as particularly cheesy, and Pale Horses is also a bit of a dud. Wildflower is a gentle and sparse, but overdramatic closer, not unlike the one from Zeitgeist.

Although Oceania goes in a new direction with a dreamier sound than its predecessor and is better-produced and feels more ambitious and accomplished than the rather regressive Zeitgeist, it could use some editing down (there are a handful of lame songs) and at times ends up feeling less like a proper Smashing Pumpkins album and more like a Billy Corgan solo album (which it basically is).

For credit breakdowns and historic release details, view The Smashing Pumpkins on Discogs.

Back to the 2012 Album Guide or the The Smashing Pumpkins Reviews page.

Written by Brett Nippard