‘OCEANIA’ CRITICAL QUOTES “…Billy Corgan, the enigmatic visionary whose creative engines are roaring with an intensity and creative pluck unmatched since his mid-'90s classics. On this 13-track continuation of his 44-song Teargarden by Kaleidyscope series, Corgan and crew unveil a battering rock assault on Quasar and a glorious electro-acoustic glide in Pinwheels before settling into the title track's nine-minute triptych of layered bliss.” --Edna Gundersen, USA TODAY, June 19, 2012 "...barreling triplet-driven rockers and ballads that build to majestic, walloping choruses." -- Jon Pareles, NEW YORK TIMES, June 29, 2012 “…the best thing the Pumpkins have done since the ‘90s.” --August Brown, LOS ANGELES TIMES, June 19, 2012 “It’s compelling, and finds new territory…‘Oceania’ can be considered a victory.” -- Dan Martin, NME.COM, June 19, 2012 “…Corgan's best work since the '90s…‘Oceania’ paints on a big canvas, from the heavy metal churn of ‘The Chimera’ to the keyboard pop of ‘One Diamond, One Heart.’ The guitars crash in mighty waves on the opening one-two of ‘Quasar’ and ‘Panopticon.’ They charge, recede, surge and spiral in a ballet of dynamics that echoes the glories of prime Pumpkins. ‘The Celestials’ builds a melancholy mood out of acoustic guitar and Mellotron, a vintage keyboard that approximates the sounds of a wobbly orchestra. Corgan’s keyboard colors are especially vital to setting the album’s tone, as are his incorporation of vocal harmonies, featuring bassist Fiorentino. The chamber-rock of the exquisite ‘Pinwheels,’ the nine-minute title song and the hypnotic ‘Pale Horse’ create a three-song world within the album, a part of the journey that revisits the introspective terrain of the hugely underrated 1998 Pumpkins album ‘Adore.’” --Greg Kot, CHICAGO TRIBUNE, June 18, 2012 “..easily one of the best albums of the band’s entire career… the current quartet truly gels on ‘Oceania,’ emerging as a solid, collective force…’Oceania’ revives Corgan’s gutter-epic vision with a clarity and ferocity not seen since ‘Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.’” --Thomas Conner, CHICAGO SUN TIMES, June 19, 2012 “…one of the band’s best records in years. Anchored by a ferocious, two-guitar assault, the album unearths Mr. Corgan’s alt-rock roots and replants them in the 1970s, where they take on a psychedelic edge. The songs morph and evolve…” -- Andrew Leahey, WASHINGTON POST, June 19, 2012 “…a solid hour of grandiose guitar rock. ‘Oceania’ has a beatific glow with recurring spiritual themes and appeals to higher love...The washes of guitar buzz, the mood-setting deployments of strings and acoustic strums, and colorful bursts of keyboard noodling that the Pumpkins sprinkle throughout the album all gather together in the epic title track.” -- Scott McLennan, BOSTON GLOBE, June 19, 2012 "...the album feels like its own focused piece, and not just 13 different studio tracks, and Oceania very much sees Corgan and company settling into album, not single, territory. And that’s probably where long-term fans have wanted to see them for a long time." --Tyler Kane, PASTEMAGAZINE.COM, June 19, 2012 "...Oceania, with its epic sweep, stands alongside the band's best work." --Scott Mervis, PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, December 6, 2012 “Oceania isn't just The Smashing Pumpkins at their best; it's rock music at its finest hour in over a decade. Each minute of the album warrants a deep listen and, once you reach the end, there's only one choice but to play it again. In that sense, it's on par with The Dark Side of the Moon and Quadrophenia and, yet, it's decidedly The Smashing Pumpkins alone…Oceania is the year's best rock record and a milestone for the genre. Hopefully, it incites and inspires a new generation. The Pumpkins are no strangers to that concept…” – Rick Florino, ARTISTDIRECT.COM, June 13, 2012 (5/5 stars) “Littered throughout ‘Oceania’ are keyboards, post-rock-style instrumentation and prog-like complexities, and they all collide on perhaps the album's strongest track, ‘My Love is Winter’…a modern-era highlight.” --Brian Moore, RED EYE (Chicago, IL), June 15, 2012 “He’s speaking with depth, triggering the same emotional chords that once hooked a generation on a multitude of angst-y lines, the likes of which would otherwise be found on crumpled up pieces of college-ruled notebook paper (“Despite all my rage, I’m still just a rat in a cage,” anyone?). But it’s that depth that’s always made up the Smashing Pumpkins; simply put, hooks, distortion, and lyrics can only take you so far. If there’s no one behind it all, or no feelings present, then what’s the point?” -- Michael Roffman, CONSEQUENCEOFSOUND.NET, June 19, 2012 “The Smashing Pumpkins showcase incredible chemistry…” --Tree Riddle, LOUDWIRE.COM, June 19, 2012 Several years after declaring the album a dead medium, Billy Corgan has not only returned with a doozy of a long player, but he's done so with a reconstituted Smashing Pumpkins that is every bit the equal of the original. Quasar is a seismic tour de force of guitar rock, and elsewhere on Oceania the band bends and shapes prog, dream pop, folk, alt-rock and psychedelia with raging aplomb. --Joe Bosso, MUSICRADAR.COM, December 12, 2012 “Oceania is not only the best Pumpkins album in more than a decade, it's the perfect synthesis of everything that made the band great in the first place…’ and add in its placement on the list.” --James Montgomery, MTV.COM, December 13, 2012 “…jaw-dropping ninth studio album…reinvigorated confidence results in the year's most outstanding rock album…On proggy epics like ‘Quasar’ and ‘Panopticon,’ Corgan seems determined to remind the universe he's one of its greatest guitarists. He succeeds, with nuclear assaults of wah-wah and phaser igniting over Mike Byrne's snare-heavy blasts. "The Celestials" opens in a "Disarm"-esque acoustic shimmer before exploding into a trademark arena-goth chorus.” --Ryan Reed, PHOENIX (Boston and Portland), June 19, 2012 “Corgan injects soul into Oceania and uses his trademark swirling guitar dance to hold that soul up.” --Iann Robinson, CRAVEONLINE.COM, June 20, 2012 “At just over nine minutes, title track ‘Oceania’ is the longest on the album. Hypnotic and mesmerizing, it commands attention and the constant underlying power shows Billy Corgan at his best – simple and electrifying. ‘Oceania’ is a journey within itself and without a doubt the stand out track of the album. ‘Pale horse’ has a tough act to follow but holds up well, haunting and unhurried after the psychedelic swirls of ‘Oceania.’” --Grace Carroll, GIGWISE.COM, June 19, 2012 “…a cohesive piece of work. And then one realizes that it's surprisingly fun to listen to, as well. And then you realize that Oceania is easily the best record the Smashing Pumpkins have put out since their heyday.” --CHICAGOIST.COM, June 21, 2012 “…a stellar collection of dreamy, less-heavy faire from the Pumpkins and is an excellent addition to the group’s canon.” --Dan Rankin, BLAREMAGAZINE.COM, June 20, 2012 "...easily Corgan's best work since the Pumpkins' heyday." --James Bósquez, SAN ANTONIO CURRENT, June 27, 2012 “The drummer comes out of the gate charging, peppering the 12/8 opener, ‘Quasar,’ with the type of grinding hand-foot combos and snare buildups that will put a smile of recognition on the faces of longtime Pumpkins fans, while the following song, ‘Panopticon,’ largely follows the same path—the man clearly enjoys keeping all four limbs pumping whenever possible, and the songs nearly always benefit.” --Joe Bosso, MUSICRADAR.COM, July 24, 2012 “…Oceania is a strong return to form for a band that could do wonders to help revive a struggling rock n roll scene.” --Dan Berthiaume, GLIDE MAGAZINE.COM, August 1, 2012 www.smashingpumpkins.com http://www.facebook.com/smashingpumpkins http://twitter.com/smashingpumpkin http://twitter.com/Billy http://www.youtube.com/smashingpumpkins Press Releases & Assets: http://www.msopr.com/n/client-roster/the-smashing-pumpkins/ For more information, please contact: MSO PR 818-380-0400 Mitch Schneider: [email protected] Todd Brodginski: [email protected] Alexandra Greenberg: [email protected] Bari Lieberman [email protected] .