[Sophie]

HereandNow, on 12 June 2012 - 05:03 AM, said:

Someone should start a new thread where we post all external reviews that come up. I don't like starting new threads because I either get shouted at or it is removed so I am not volunteering to start it.

Done.

[edit: Ill be updating this post with the reviews posted within. - Simon]

About.com: 4/5 stars
"Oceania is the first Smashing Pumpkins record since [Mellon Collie] to fully stimulate the senses and stir the heart."

AllMusic: 4/5 stars
"These are some of the most memorable and rousing songs Corgan has delivered since 1993's Siamese Dream."

An Focal (author's blog entry): 83/100
"This album is a supreme return to form by Corgan and company."

Antiquiet: 4/5 stars
"Oceania has made it clear that he still possesses the ability to write a Pumpkins’ album, and the new band is more than capable of joining him for the ride."

Artist Direct: 5/5 stars
"God knows how long it's been since any artist built a record that begged to be listened to from beginning to end. [...] Oceania is the year's best rock record and a milestone for the genre."

The Arts Desk: 4/5 stars
The sound has been buffed to an exquisite technical sheen throughout, though the mix of hard rock, prog, psychedelia and electropop will feel familiar to Pumpkins regulars."

AV Club: B
"It may be too late for Corgan to reclaim the alt-rock throne he’s long pretended to have no interest in, but with Oceania he’s finally delivered the Smashing Pumpkins album that everybody wanted the first time he decided to revive the name."

BBC: 8.0/10
"for the first time in quite a while Billy Corgan and The Smashing Pumpkins sound energised and alive."

Chicago Sun Times: 4/5 stars
"Dedicated fans can feel vindicated. Wayward souls can return to the flock. Doubters can hush up."

Chicago Tribune: 3.5/4 stars
"For once the comparisons to ‘90s Pumpkins don’t ring hollow."

Consequence of Sound: 4/5 stars
"This is the album that needed to surface back in 2007."

Daily Nebraskan: A-
"Once you get used to it, it packs a punch. It’s clear that the band is at the top of its game."

Dance to the Radio: 8.9/10
""Violet Rays" is the song that represents the pinnacle and it is their best song in years"

De Morgan [Translate]: 3 stars
"Corgan's strongest performance in the past decade"

Discubed: 4.5/5 stars
"Oceania is most compelling effort the band has put together since Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness"

Gaffa.dk [Translate]: 5/6 stars
"The songwriting is the album through the very top, and it seems as though Corgan has taken back to the creative vein he tapped from back in the 90s."

Gigwise: 4/5 stars
"‘Oceania’ heralds a long overdue return to form and manages to incorporate many of the trademark sounds of the Pumpkins"

Grunge Report: A-
"Overall, this is definitely the best Smashing Pumpkins album since 1998′s Adore."

Kerrang!: 4/5

Las Vegas Weekly: 2.5/5 stars
"It’s mostly unremarkable, with Corgan and his latest bandmates offering little that distinguishes the album from the larger, similarly inconsistent project surrounding it."

London Evening Standard: 4 stars
"Let us welcome the new Barclay James Harvest."

Metro UK: positive
"Oceania is a second coming for the gods of grunge."

New Adventures in Hi-Fi: positive
"[...] his young bandmates seem to have got his creative juices flowing [...]"

NME: 6/10 (print only)
"'Oceania' lands somewhere between those cynical real-world practices and the grand fantasy within Billy's mind."

...ology: B+
"The most stirring, progressively interesting Smashing Pumpkins record since the band's controversial reincarnation."

Paste: 8.3/10
"It’s almost as if the Pumpkins were using this Teargarden set to fully gear up for Oceania, which is the group’s most focused, and solid effort since 2000’s Machina/The Machines of God."

Pitchfork: 6.3/10
"What you do hear on Oceania is a reawakening of Corgan's ambitions."

PopDose: positive
"With Oceania, Billy Corgan finally returns his beloved Smashing Pumpkins to the heights of greatness and excess that he walked away from in the year 2000."

PopMatters (take 1): 7/10
"Oceania is [...] proof that integrity and quality of artistic output can overcome any negative impression."

PopMatters (take 2): 4/10
"Billy Corgan can’t ever quite muster up the magic of the Pumpkins’ early years because, to be honest, the songs just aren’t good enough."

RedEye Chicago: 3/4 stars
"Good to hear Corgan recognize a world outside himself, one that will likely be reasonably, pleasantly surprised by what the Pumpkin has sprouted this time."

Rock 'n' Roll to the Rescue: very positive
"Oceania is clearly the best Pumpkins album since Mellon Collie."

Rolling Stone: 3/5 stars
"The at-times-cranky Corgan sounds pretty zonkily content throughout."

Sloucher: 5/5 stars
"I’ve been waiting for this album."

Sputnik Music: 4.5/5 (superb)
"Billy shuts everyone up with The Smashing Pumpkins' latest release."

Stereogum: positive
"I don’t think I’m being hyperbolic when I say that Oceania is Corgan’s best album since Mary Star Of The Sea, and the best Smashing Pumpkins album since … Melon Collie?"

Straight.com: positive
"It is good enough to suggest that Corgan has earned the right to be a cocky asshole once in a while."

StrangeLuv: A-
"What Oceania is, is the most cohesive sounding album the Pumpkins have released in 17 years."

The Way That He Sings: 8/10
"It’s ok to miss Jimmy Chamberlain but it won’t be because of this album. That’s what a good album does for you – it makes everyone sound better."

Toronto Sun: 4/5 stars
"His best work in years."

Ultimate Guitar: 8.3/10
"Really, when I put my nostalgic emotions behind me, this isn't a bad album and for the current musical environment it is outstanding."

USA Today: 3.5/4 stars
"The current lineup bears no resemblance to the original, save for founder Billy Corgan, the engimatic visionary whose creative engines are roaring with an intensity and creative pluck unmatched since his mid-'90s classics."

Wicked Mike: positive
"There’s no ‘Bullet With a Butterfly’s Wings’ or ‘Landslide’ here (and there are some fillers) but Oceania, as a whole, is fluid like the tides."

[Sophie]

From iTunes:

"Frequently beloved and sometimes controversial, Billy Corgan could always write a classic song. On Oceania, The Smashing Pumpkins' singer/songwriter/bandleader demonstrates over and over that his gift for melody and memorable hooks hasn't diminished. "Quasar" opens the album with an urgency fueled by drummer/vocalist Mike Byrne's insistent timekeeping and a twin six-string attack by Corgan and guitarist Jeff Schroeder. "The Celestials" boasts a strummed acoustic guitar and a Corgan analog keyboard line that make it an instant in-concert sing-along candidate, while "One Diamond, One Heart" and "Pinwheels" have majestically sequenced arpeggio lines that recall the Pumpkins' past alternative radio hits. "Pale Horse," in turn, is fitting showcase for bassist/vocalist Nicole Fiorentino, who makes an ideal singing partner for Corgan."

-------------------

And another one from:
Toronto Sun

-------------------

OK those are the old ones, I'm expecting some new ones promptly.

[dhcutt]

It would be great if you update the original post with any new reviews that come out.

[ItsSoPringles]

a couple of those comments in the grungereport's review page piss me off:

"Bills vocals are lifeless on 90% of the album and the overall feel is very elevator friendly."(kinda the oppossite, hes flat 10% of the time hits the other 90%, worst of all this guy says he likes zeitgeist at the start)

"At least he has his fake wrestling to still go to as this will quickly go away and never be mentioned by anyone except SP super fans which is cool so have fun with your music." (for one no shit wrestling is fake, but this guy is such a simpleton he probably doesnt even know that. Bit also there is absolutely no way to tell what the future will hold for how this will be looked back on so he has no backing proof saying this)

and of course
"This is not SP it is just Billy & Co."

[Hummer75]

ItsSoPringles, on 12 June 2012 - 06:50 AM, said:

a couple of those comments in the grungereport's review page piss me off:

"Bills vocals are lifeless on 90% of the album and the overall feel is very elevator friendly."(kinda the oppossite, hes flat 10% of the time hits the other 90%, worst of all this guy says he likes zeitgeist at the start)

"At least he has his fake wrestling to still go to as this will quickly go away and never be mentioned by anyone except SP super fans which is cool so have fun with your music." (for one no shit wrestling is fake, but this guy is such a simpleton he probably doesnt even know that. Bit also there is absolutely no way to tell what the future will hold for how this will be looked back on so he has no backing proof saying this)

and of course
"This is not SP it is just Billy & Co."

yea, that pisses me off too, I mean really, who trolls band websites. Talk about no life..

[ItsSoPringles]

what, no those were from the grunge report page not here

[dhcutt]

ItsSoPringles, on 12 June 2012 - 06:50 AM, said:

and of course
"This is not SP it is just Billy & Co."

This statement just reaks of ignorance. Please, listen to the album before forming opinions.

[bring_the_light]

http://twths.org/alb...mpkins-oceania/

another review: 8/10

[Sophie]

dhcutt, on 12 June 2012 - 06:39 AM, said:

It would be great if you update the original post with any new reviews that come out.

Sadly I can't do this even though it would have been pretty convenient.
There's indeed an edit retriction: you can't modify a post after something like 15min.

[ItsSoPringles]

got a feeling this wont get over a 8/10 or 4/5, i blame quasar

[Lunatic]

We get it, you don't like Quasar. That's cool.

[ItsSoPringles]

Lunatic, on 12 June 2012 - 09:57 AM, said:

We get it, you don't like Quasar. That's cool.

we get it you dont like me ragging on it, thats cool.

[TwoHeadedBoy]

ItsSoPringles, on 12 June 2012 - 08:03 AM, said:

got a feeling this wont get over a 8/10 or 4/5, i blame quasar

Do you not like it or something? :p/>

[ItsSoPringles]

TwoHeadedBoy, on 12 June 2012 - 11:42 AM, said:

Do you not like it or something? :p/>

i think Oceania is the best album ive heard in years, reviewers probably wont, im still anticipating pitchfork and rolling stone's low scores

[TwoHeadedBoy]

I was referring to your obviously apparent distaste for Quasar, it was but a wee joke.

Anywho, I agree Pitchfork probably won't like it, but I could give a shit. Their reviews are pompous, poorly written, and are completely dependent on the hipster cred of the band. Not that it's a bad site to find NEW bands though.

[WayneArnold]

I think it'll get reviewed very well. It has the sound people are looking for and like. Doesn't have the songs, but it has the sound and works as an overall piece of music.


Commercially, it'll be their worst performing.

[ItsSoPringles]

WayneArnold, on 12 June 2012 - 11:46 AM, said:

I think it'll get reviewed very well. It has the sound people are looking for and like.

doubt it, i think people were looking for a energy filled rock record like MCIS, not a slowish shoegaze record.

only quasar and possibly panopticon will please some people

[Drevpile]

Sophie, on 12 June 2012 - 05:35 AM, said:

From iTunes:

iTunes isn't really a 'review' now is it? It's a product description.

[Sophie]

Drevpile, on 12 June 2012 - 12:12 PM, said:

iTunes isn't really a 'review' now is it? It's a product description.

I agree with you on that point. It's obviously marketed and I wasn't exactly expecting them to have an opinion about the album...

Nevertheless at the time we discovered that text it contained information concerning the forthcoming album that we hadn't had before (acoustic part on The Celestials, Nicole's great backing vocals, that sort of thing) which is why I collected it with the others.

[eyeboogers]

ItsSoPringles, on 12 June 2012 - 11:54 AM, said:

doubt it, i think people were looking for a energy filled rock record like MCIS, not a slowish shoegaze record.

only quasar and possibly panopticon will please some people

I don't hear a "slowish shoegaze record", i think it's mostly upbeat and poppy. The energy filled rock record you're talking about would be what most hardcore fans might've wanted but I think the "Oceania" sound has a better chance of connecting with a larger audience. And whether I love every record I really appreciate and admire that each SP album has it's own unique sound.

[agent_cooper]

ItsSoPringles, on 12 June 2012 - 08:03 AM, said:

got a feeling this wont get over a 8/10 or 4/5, i blame quasar

we know by now what you don't like, you little attention whore, no need to make a crusade out of it

[Feriluce]

agent_cooper, on 12 June 2012 - 12:39 PM, said:

we know by now what you don't like, you little attention whore, no need to make a crusade out of it

Stop it :rofl:/> you'll only give his Quasar hate more attention.

[Simon Belmont]

If people don't like the album, and want to bitch about the music, that's fine, their opinion, but blaming the new band members for it is getting fucking stupid. It's on par with people who hate Obama insisting on emphasizing his middle name whenever they mention him, as if that means anything to the rest of us with half a brain.

[soVerysadAboutyou]

ItsSoPringles, on 12 June 2012 - 11:43 AM, said:

i think Oceania is the best album ive heard in years, reviewers probably wont, im still anticipating pitchfork and rolling stone's low scores

it seems like rolling stone doesn't even give bad reviews ever. it seems like 80% of whatever shows up in the magazine is minimum 3 stars.

[Lunatic]

@6:18

[cc3078]

TwoHeadedBoy, on 12 June 2012 - 11:45 AM, said:

I was referring to your obviously apparent distaste for Quasar, it was but a wee joke.

Anywho, I agree Pitchfork probably won't like it, but I could give a shit. Their reviews are pompous, poorly written, and are completely dependent on the hipster cred of the band. Not that it's a bad site to find NEW bands though.

+1 I never have cared about a review as little as I do when I find the time to lookup a Pitchfork review. They try to write fucking Shakespeare with each review and instead they twist themselves into verbal knots and think they're too cool to give a great record a score too high since they know they have massive influence, and don't want to over-indulge.

[Inertia]

Lunatic, on 12 June 2012 - 12:57 PM, said:

@6:18

This channel is so cheesy. Yet, I still watch his videos for whatever reason. :(/>

[shhhpieceful]

Lifelong Pumpkins Fan, first (or second?) post here...

The first 2 tracks made me so unbelievably happy. The songs were great and all but I got a similar feeling to listening to the first several albums the first time...I swear to God, I had high hopes for this (as I would any new SP LP) and it so far has met those...word

[ItsSoPringles]

shhhpieceful, on 12 June 2012 - 04:02 PM, said:

Lifelong Pumpkins Fan, first (or second?) post here...

The first 2 tracks made me so unbelievably happy. The songs were great and all but I got a similar feeling to listening to the first several albums the first time...I swear to God, I had high hopes for this (as I would any new SP LP) and it so far has met those...word

wrong place people

your looking for this place
http://www.smashingp...48

[JSapp]

shhhpieceful, on 12 June 2012 - 04:02 PM, said:

Lifelong Pumpkins Fan, first (or second?) post here...

The first 2 tracks made me so unbelievably happy. The songs were great and all but I got a similar feeling to listening to the first several albums the first time...I swear to God, I had high hopes for this (as I would any new SP LP) and it so far has met those...word

Amen to that. This album invokes the feelings in me classic SP albums did and still do. And for that im extremely happy and grateful.Anyone who doesn't like it, that's ok. A lot of people didn't like the old stuff at the time either. I don't care if the reviews are good or bad. This album is a gem

[agent_cooper]

more external reviews on one of my favorite sites, if you don't have an account on rateyourmusic already make one asap and review oceania, rate it good, this site is influential like hell
http://rateyourmusic...mpkins/oceania/

[ItsSoPringles]

i love how incredibly positive this forum is and how "ugh/meh" any other place where there arent die hards like us acts.

then again anyone that actually thought this album would be overall well received by the public is a fool.

[WayneArnold]

ItsSoPringles, on 13 June 2012 - 06:45 AM, said:

i love how incredibly positive this forum is and how "ugh/meh" any other place where there arent die hards like us acts.

then again anyone that actually thought this album would be overall well received by the public is a fool.

It's not even being received that positively by other fan sites. It's just here.

[ItsSoPringles]

agent_cooper, on 13 June 2012 - 01:40 AM, said:

more external reviews on one of my favorite sites, if you don't have an account on rateyourmusic already make one asap and review oceania, rate it good, this site is influential like hell
http://rateyourmusic...mpkins/oceania/

it wont matter if one influential site eventually gets a good score because we fluster it with good score, that wont change the fact that everywhere else it will be poorly received.

[ItsSoPringles]

WayneArnold, on 13 June 2012 - 06:49 AM, said:

It's not even being received that positively by other fan sites. It's just here.

im actually seeing alot of people saying this is worse than zeitgeist, i cant see why but they do.


ehh like is aid, anyone who thought this would actually be well received was a fool, that includes you billy

[DeepPurple]

WayneArnold, on 13 June 2012 - 06:49 AM, said:

It's not even being received that positively by other fan sites. It's just here.

Netphoria isn't a fan site, and there are what...5 people left on Blamo?. Its the people outside of Pumpkins "fan" sites that im more interested in, and from reading around, the response from those who have heard the stream is definitely on the positive side. There will be a large amount of people who will hate on this no matter what, and those peoples opinions are irrelevant because they come from an pre-conceived negativity toward anything new that Billy does. They just hang around to try and inflict their misery on others. Fuck them, and their worthless opinions. Being critical of the music is one thing, and that's all well and good when it comes from an unbiased viewpoint, but being critical just because you're an asshole is another.

[ItsSoPringles]

DeepPurple, on 13 June 2012 - 06:58 AM, said:

Netphoria isn't a fan site, and there are what...5 people left on Blamo?. Its the people outside of Pumpkins "fan" sites that im more interested in, and from reading around, the response from those who have heard the stream is definitely on the positive side. There will be a large amount of people who will hate on this no matter what, and those peoples opinions are irrelevant because they come from an pre-conceived negativity toward anything new that Billy does. They just hang around to try and inflict their misery on others. Fuck them, and their worthless opinions. Being critical of the music is one thing, and that's all well and good when it comes from an unbiased viewpoint, but being critical just because you're an asshole is another.

HAHAHAHA, positive responses? your fucking kidding right?
http://rateyourmusic...mpkins/oceania/

[alternityrule]

5/5
http://www.artistdir...-stars/10124920

[ItsSoPringles]

alternityrule, on 13 June 2012 - 07:08 AM, said:

5/5
http://www.artistdir...-stars/10124920

that review felt really forced.

oceania = 5/5
mellon collie 4.5/5


yah i dont buy this

[jbear]

ItsSoPringles, on 13 June 2012 - 07:13 AM, said:

that review felt really forced.

oceania = 5/5
mellon collie 4.5/5


yah i dont buy this

You don't buy it because you've been saying for two days how the reviews will be bad. this one is sugary sweet to the point that I'm worried about a diabetic coma though.

Reviewer: "it's rock music at its finest hour in over a decade"

He's entitled to his opinions and I'm inclined to believe he isn't just pretending to like it.

[odracir]

ItsSoPringles, on 13 June 2012 - 07:03 AM, said:

HAHAHAHA, positive responses? your fucking kidding right?
http://rateyourmusic...mpkins/oceania/

So those voting must be like a lot of people with really fast access to the music right?. To me it doesn't sound like the general consumer voting. Also watching the graphics of other SP albums. Siamese Dream has achieved an AMAZING 4.02 followed by a 3.90 by Mellon Collie. So a 3.06 to me is not that bad in the range for a upcoming disc "about to be released on June the 19th". ;-)

[WayneArnold]

The reviews will be mostly positive, trust me.

[TwoHeadedBoy]

"In that sense, it's on par with The Dark Side of the Moon and Quadrophenia "

:lol:/> Oh, give me a break. That's ridiculous.

The RYM reviews seem pretty balanced, I'm surprised.

[HereandNow]

http://sputnikmusic....mpkins-Oceania/

Another positive review. 4.5