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Jul 3, 2008
COMMENTS
The Future Embrace
December 6, 2007, 2:25 am - RealmOfSoftDelusions
After 'Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness', both Billy Corgan and James Iha were quoted as saying the future of music was electronic. In 'Adore' and 'Machina / The Machines of God', Corgan delved into this area. Neither album performed as well as the straight rock assault, but Corgan continued to push the boundaries of alternative music even in his commercial semi-failure.
In 'The Future Embrace', Corgan uses a lot more electronic instrumentation than on any previous album, but fails to push the musical boundaries. By the time of Corgan's solo release, electronic music had already developed so much further, Corgan's attempts feel dated and lacklustre. The lyrics for the album are personal, one element of music for which Corgan has become renonwned. However, the music fails to punctuate the emotion in 'The Future Embrace', which leaves the majority of the album lacking.
This is not true of every track. 'To Love Somebody', the Bee Gees cover, is a brilliantly original cover version, where Corgan shows what he is capable of producing musically. 'The Camera Eye' and 'Mina Loy (M.O.H.)' are other highlights, for the album, but fall far behind what else can be found in the electronic and rock musical genres. 'Walking Shade', the only single released from the album, is not a bad effort either, but falls back on music movements which have appeared so often before they seem like clichés. There are other tracks, such as 'All Things Change', 'I'm Ready' and 'Now and Then', which seem too content to go for simple melodies, making them sound more like filler than properly realised efforts.
Even Corgan's voice seems to be reserved, limiting the emotional impact of the lyrics. In 'Walking Shade' his voice is even electronically manipulated, making the lyrics indiscernible. Corgan's mulitple-beat wails in 'Sorrows (In Blue)' give a little variety to an album where Corgan refuses to show the singing ability he had previously displayed in Smashing Pumpkins tracks like 'Disarm', 'Luna' and 'Thirty-Three'.
If the album is an initiation for Corgan in the electronic music world, he has not failed. But as anything else, the album is too reserved and bland to be considered a success.
In 'The Future Embrace', Corgan uses a lot more electronic instrumentation than on any previous album, but fails to push the musical boundaries. By the time of Corgan's solo release, electronic music had already developed so much further, Corgan's attempts feel dated and lacklustre. The lyrics for the album are personal, one element of music for which Corgan has become renonwned. However, the music fails to punctuate the emotion in 'The Future Embrace', which leaves the majority of the album lacking.
This is not true of every track. 'To Love Somebody', the Bee Gees cover, is a brilliantly original cover version, where Corgan shows what he is capable of producing musically. 'The Camera Eye' and 'Mina Loy (M.O.H.)' are other highlights, for the album, but fall far behind what else can be found in the electronic and rock musical genres. 'Walking Shade', the only single released from the album, is not a bad effort either, but falls back on music movements which have appeared so often before they seem like clichés. There are other tracks, such as 'All Things Change', 'I'm Ready' and 'Now and Then', which seem too content to go for simple melodies, making them sound more like filler than properly realised efforts.
Even Corgan's voice seems to be reserved, limiting the emotional impact of the lyrics. In 'Walking Shade' his voice is even electronically manipulated, making the lyrics indiscernible. Corgan's mulitple-beat wails in 'Sorrows (In Blue)' give a little variety to an album where Corgan refuses to show the singing ability he had previously displayed in Smashing Pumpkins tracks like 'Disarm', 'Luna' and 'Thirty-Three'.
If the album is an initiation for Corgan in the electronic music world, he has not failed. But as anything else, the album is too reserved and bland to be considered a success.