Smashing Pumpkins, The - Aghori Mhori Mei [LP] Black Vinyl

A bruising and shadowy return to form from original Smashing Pumpkins members Jimmy Chamberlin, James Iha, and Billy Corgan. Recorded in the immediate aftermath of their 33-song concept album, Atum, Aghori Mhori Mei harkens back to the band's early '90s canon; where guitars, bass, drums, and spiking vocals ruled.

Confidently delivered and teeming with ideas, it flies by as much because of its urgency as its cohesion. From the moment opener 'Edin' unveils its proggy stylings, to when 'Murnau''s beautiful orchestral groove fades out, this is a journey in which every step feels important in getting to the next.

From the opening guitar lick of 'Edin,' it's clear that The Pumpkins are back and are ready to make a racket. Corgan, Chamberlin, and Iha lock in and drop the kind of earth-shaking groove many feared we'd never hear on record again. Album thirteen not only acts as the best thing The Pumpkins has released in over a decade but also an exciting indicator of things hopefully to come – a welcome surprise from one of rock's most unpredictable acts.

The Smashing Pumpkins are back. Passionate, sensitive, melancholic, aggressive, libidinal, eternal.

Much of Aghori Mhori Mei sounds a heckuva lot like classic Smashing Pumpkins with searing guitar riffs and roaring melodies delivered in Corgan's distinctive style; his vocals move from wistful coos to throaty sneers in a heartbeat. Tracks like 'Edin,' 'Pentagrams,' and 'Sighommi' crackle with a dark rock magic, their anthemic melodies spinning on the knife's edge of the band's electric guitar wallop. Equally engaging, cuts like 'Who Goes There' and 'Goeth the Fall' summon the same kind of bittersweet and cinematic pop grandeur of fan favorite songs like 'Today,' 'Tonight, Tonight,' and '1979.'