American Gothic (EP)
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''American Gothic'' is the fourth EP by
The Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also referred to as simply Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band from Chicago. Formed in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Ch ...
. The EP was announced on the band's website on December 19, 2007 with songwriter Billy Corgan describing it as a continuation of their 2007 album ''
Zeitgeist In 18th- and 19th-century German philosophy, a ''Zeitgeist'' () ("spirit of the age") is an invisible agent, force or Daemon dominating the characteristics of a given epoch in world history. Now, the term is usually associated with Georg W. ...
''. It was released digitally on January 2, 2008 and as a CD in the United Kingdom on February 11, 2008.


Background

After playing "Again Again Again" in Los Angeles in late 2006 at an event organized by
Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is co-founder, leader, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s. Townsh ...
's girlfriend, Corgan was asked by Townshend himself if the song was going to be on ''Zeitgeist''. While the song did not make the album, Corgan always planned to release it in some form, resulting in its appearance on ''American Gothic''.The Smashing Pumpkins to Release 'American Gothic', a Four-Song Acoustic EP, Digitally on January 2 and at Retail in January Outside the US
". SmashingPumpkins.com. 2007-12-19. Accessed on 2007-12-19.
Corgan said of the EP, Corgan also made high-resolution artwork for the EP available for download through the band's website. In an interview with the ''
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'', Billy Corgan stated that, with ''American Gothic'' and the new single " G.L.O.W.", the band "finally turned the corner... where it's starting to feel like our music again, and not theirs, whoever 'they' might be," referring to the band's choice to continue making music without a
record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...
.


Music

The EP contains four acoustic tracks that feature
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ming. Their sound has been described as "an extension of the straight-ahead
alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...
sound that the Smashing Pumpkins returned to on the band's 2007 comeback outing, ''Zeitgeist''." The EP also features a more polished production work in contrast to the band's previous acoustic music input, which mostly consisted of demos. The track "The Rose March" features an electric rhythm guitar and guitar picking reminiscent of The Smashing Pumpkins' early work, as well as
overdubbed Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more av ...
harmonies. The track "Again, Again, Again (The Crux)", which was described to be catchiest on the EP, features drum fills played by the Smashing Pumpkins
Jimmy Chamberlin James Joseph Chamberlin (born June 10, 1964) is an American drummer and record producer. He is best known as the drummer for the alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. Following the 2000 breakup of the band, Chamberlin joined Pumpkins fro ...
. The "jangly" track "Pox" was described as "the pick of the bunch, grungy acoustic and bass fairly thrumming with latent menace," while the track "Sunkissed" is an atmospheric song that "recaptures some of the group's '90s verve."


Release

The EP includes four unreleased tracks recorded in the late 2007 break between tours at the Pass Studio in
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. In the United States, the EP was released as an exclusive digital release for the
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on January 1, 2008 as part of a re-release of ''Zeitgeist'', but it received a physical release internationally on February 11 and March 4 in Canada.
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also released a download-only "UK Tour Edition" on February 25 that features four bonus tracks, all recorded during the February 2008 UK tour.


Critical reception

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critic Michael Roffman wrote: "If anything, ''Gothic'' is a step forward from ''Zeitgeist'', in that there are hints, both lyrically and musically, of that despair and angst that made ballads “ Tonight, Tonight” and “Crush” so successful." Nevertheless, Roffman also criticized Corgan's creative dominance over the release, stating: "If Corgan wants us to buy into his new motley crew of Pumpkins, he is going to have to be more of a collaborator and less of a dictator." Alex Denney of Drowned in Sound wrote: "It's passably structured, yes, but instantly forgettable and with a curious lack of personality that’s unfortunately become one of Corgan’s calling cards post-
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." Joachim Hackshaw of
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praised the EP and stated: "The EP is full of shifts in momentum and the drums really drive the mood on this brief musical journey." Hackshaw eventually concluded: "I can't really say enough about this EP apart from to give it my full recommendation, I just wish it was longer."
Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
commented: "Though it probably won't result in many new converts, the EP proves that the well-received ''Zeitgeist'' wasn't just a Corgan-fueled fluke."


Track listing

All songs written by Billy Corgan: # "The Rose March" – 4:32 # "Again, Again, Again (The Crux)" – 3:44 # "Pox" – 3:38 # "Sunkissed" – 5:10 UK tour edition bonus tracks #
  • "Lily (My One and Only)" (Live, February 2008) – 3:27 # "
    That's the Way (My Love Is) "That's the Way (My Love Is)" is a song written by Billy Corgan and performed by The Smashing Pumpkins on their album ''Zeitgeist''. "That's the Way (My Love Is)" is the second, and final, commercial single from the album, and was released to ra ...
    " (Live, February 2008) – 4:17 # "
    1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...
    " (Live, February 2008) – 4:34 # " Perfect" (Live, February 2008) – 4:15


    Personnel

    The Smashing Pumpkins *
    Jimmy Chamberlin James Joseph Chamberlin (born June 10, 1964) is an American drummer and record producer. He is best known as the drummer for the alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. Following the 2000 breakup of the band, Chamberlin joined Pumpkins fro ...
     – drums,
    production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...
    , mixing * Billy Corgan – lead vocals, guitar, keyboards, production, mixing, art direction, photography Additional musicians *
    Lisa Harriton Lisa Rae Harriton is an American singer-songwriter, keyboardist and sound designer. She writes and records music with her husband Joshua Bartholomew under the moniker JoLi. Harriton is a co-writer of the Grammy and Oscar nominated song " Everyt ...
     – keyboards, backing vocals on "Lily" and "That's the Way" *
    Ginger Reyes Ginger A. Pooley ( née Reyes, born April 22, 1977) is an American rock musician, best known as a bassist and backing vocalist for the Chicago alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. More recently she has played bass for Gwen Stefani and ...
     – bass guitar, backing vocals on "Lily" * Jeff Schroeder – guitar, backing vocals on "Lily" Production *
    Roy Thomas Baker Roy Thomas Baker (born 10 November 1946) is an English record producer, songwriter and arranger, who has produced rock and pop and songs since the 1970s. Career Baker began his career at Decca Records at the age of 14 and later worked as an a ...
     – production and mixing on "Again, Again, Again" *
    Stephen Marcussen Stephen Marcussen is the founder and chief mastering engineer at Marcussen Mastering in Hollywood, California, United States. He has been mastering music since 1979. Biography Marcussen's introduction to music recording happened in 1976 when, at ...
     – mastering * Zephrus Sowers – assistant engineer * Matt Taylor – art direction, design *
    Bjorn Thorsrud Bjorn Thorsrud (October 7, 1963 – October 19, 2021) was an American music producer, programmer, and audio engineer who produced film scores and albums for rock and pop artists. He also engineered, mixed, or contributed production or programmi ...
     – recording, mixing


    Charts


    References


    External links

    * {{Authority control 2008 EPs Albums produced by Billy Corgan Albums produced by Roy Thomas Baker The Smashing Pumpkins EPs Reprise Records EPs