Monuments To An Elegy

The Smashing Pumpkins

Monuments To An Elegy

Ninth studio album from the Chicago alt.rock band and features Mötley Crüe's Tommy Lee on drums

ADM rating[?]

6.6

Label
BMG
UK Release date
08/12/2014
US Release date
09/12/2014
  1. 8.0 |   DIY

    It’s an accomplished rock record that’s a very welcome addition to the band’s enduring history
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  2. 8.0 |   Evening Standard

    Perhaps his new collaborator, Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee, has toughened him — but the Pumpkins’ 10th album finds the dome-headed savant on his best form for an aeon
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  3. 8.0 |   All Music

    For an artist who has fervently believed more is indeed more, this restraint is thoroughly appealing and helps showcase his craft in surprising - and, yes, sometimes dazzling - ways
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  4. 8.0 |   FasterLouder

    A lack of excess and musical procrastination are it’s selling points, coupled with effortless song craft and a spirit akin to a reawakening and realisation of where his artistic strengths lie
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  5. 8.0 |   Uncut

    Back to psychedelic hard-rock form, with Tommy Lee on drums. Print edition only

  6. 7.9 |   Paste Magazine

    For as much as Oceania felt like a heavy return to form, Monuments is familiar in the sense that Corgan’s taking a thoughtful swing in a new direction
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  7. 7.0 |   The Quietus

    Everything is here to serve the songs, and those songs are not bad at all
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  8. 7.0 |   Beardfood

    It's a welcome return rather than a grab for past glory
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  9. 7.0 |   NME

    Essentially a Corgan solo record which shows flashes of his old power, while also straying into some seriously dodgy attempts to update the Pumpkins sound for 2014
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  10. 6.7 |   A.V. Club

    While Monuments To An Elegy is certainly a solid release, in the end, it’s most enjoyable when approached with managed expectations
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  11. 6.7 |   Consequence Of Sound

    While not as sweeping as its predecessor, the album is just as emphatic and far more emotional
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  12. 6.5 |   Under The Radar

    For The Smashing Pumpkins' third act, Corgan has finally unveiled the album he should have made 15 years ago
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  13. 6.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    The Smashing Pumpkins is a cool, modest indie-rock project from Nineties musician Billy Corgan and actually – and in spite of what’s been lost – that’s kind of nice
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  14. 6.0 |   Spin

    Mostly, Monuments is '90s-indebted for its surprisingly humble notion that a collection of new wave-influenced, relatively unambitious alt-rock songs can be a commercially viable thing for a name-brand rock group
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  15. 6.0 |   Q

    Rock's ultimate malcontent finally seems satisfied with his place in the world. Print edition only

  16. 6.0 |   Mojo

    Finds Corgan retreating to the safety of the classic Pumpkins sound. Print edition only

  17. 6.0 |   The Guardian

    Lashings of alt-rock guitars and subtle classic rock references abound, although there are lovely tinkly keyboards on Tiberius and Being Beige chugs along on a drum machine
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  18. 6.0 |   The Observer

    This 10th studio effort is easily Corgan’s greatest hit for some time
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  19. 6.0 |   Pitchfork

    Ultimately nowhere near as rewarding as his best work because it took no risks
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  20. 6.0 |   Rolling Stone

    Corgan's characteristically acidic vocals make sure that songs like the New Wave-y "Dorian," the Killers-ish "Run2Me" and the cloying "Anti-Hero" are as much Pumpkins as they are pop
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  21. 6.0 |   God Is In The TV

    A missed opportunity and an unspectacular placeholder at best.
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  22. 5.0 |   The Music

    Even if Monument... is part of the ongoing piece of music that is his best material in over a decade, it doesn’t save it from being ultimately meandering, generic and a shadow of former wonder
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  23. 5.0 |   Clash

    It’s the ninth studio album to bear the Pumpkins brand, and probably the seventh that wouldn’t find a single track making most fans’ side-of-a-C90 best-of
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The Smashing Pumpkins: Monuments To An Elegy

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  • 1. Tiberius £0.99
  • 2. Being Beige £0.99
  • 3. Anaise! £0.99
  • 4. One and All £0.99
  • 5. Run2me £0.99
  • 6. Drum + Fife £0.99
  • 7. Monuments £0.99
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