Smashing Pumpkins Zeitgeist : B-

The noughties' reunion tide keeps a-rollin'. Now, more than two years after leader Billy Corgan's dramatic plea to his former bandmates via a full-page ad in the Chicago Tribune, The Smashing Pumpkins are back -- uh, sort of. \nActually, its two original members -- Corgan and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin -- are back, plus three new, little-known recruits. But that qualifying "sort of" is due less to their roster than to the sound of their new album "Zeitgeist." Perhaps it's in response to the unfavorable reception of the Pumpkins' last two albums -- 1998's quiet acoustic/electronic "Adore" and 2000's hyper-produced, high-concept prog-rock "Machina/The Machines of God" -- but with "Zeitgeist" the band seems content to churn out fairly standard, top-40 alt-rock, distinguished from the pack only by the presence of Corgan's familiar vocals.\nNot that it's a bad listen, per se -- it, after all, generally sticks to proven formulae. The Pumpkins push their instruments to 11 on almost every track -- especially on standouts such as "Doomsday Clock," "Tarantula" and "(Come On) Let's Go." The main problem, instead, is that not much of "Zeitgeist" is particularly memorable -- which is disappointing, given that Corgan's ability to pen a sharp, hook-laden tune was what elevated the band above their '90s heavy-rock peers in the first place. \nAnd then there's the lyrics. Coming from the guy who wrote the brilliant chorus "For all of my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage," the lyrics for many of Zeitgeist's songs are shockingly uninspired. Take, for example, "That's The Way (My Love Is)": "they say that life ain't easy/they'll say your love's a crime/destroy up all your reason/how I'm alive," then "they'll say that nothing matters/not even your will to survive/of course I love you baby/'cause I'm alive." Or the (requisite) anti-war tune "For God And Country": "for God and country, I'll fight/for God and country, I'll die/for God and country, my soul is so alive." Yawn.\nIf you want a more exciting fix of "new Pumpkins," do yourself a favor -- pick up Silversun Pickups' 2006 album "Carnavas." You won't be disappointed.