Though they emerged alongside grunge acts like Nirvana and Pearl Jam, the Smashing Pumpkins were the group least influenced by traditional underground rock. Headed by principal songwriter and frontman Billy Corgan, they fashioned an amalgam of progressive rock, heavy metal, goth, psychedelia, and dream pop, creating a layered, powerful sound driven by swirling, distorted guitars that churned beneath Corgan's angst-ridden lyrics. One of the most visible alternative rock bands of the early '90s, they achieved mainstream success over the decade with classic releases Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness before entering an uneven and often tumultuous chapter that carried them into the 2000s.
The Smashing Pumpkins return with a new double album. The LP features 20 tracks, including the title track Cyr and The Colour of Love, and was recorded in the band’s native Chicago with Billy Corgan serving as producer. Cyr marks Smashing Pumpkins’ second LP since their semi-reunion with guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Chamberlain, following 2018’s Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun. The album is also the band’s first with Sumerian Records, who recently signed them.