A pyrrhic victory? Don’t the Manic Street Preachers own the rights to that phrase? Anyhow, London’s most epic rock band return after an extended hiatus, and it’s like the tenner in the pocket you forgot you had: you were fine without it but it’s a surprise and bonus in equal measures. The Smashing Pumpkins-esque lead track ‘War Of The Worlds’ is not quite as melodic as 2000’s ‘Grounded’, nor as driving as ‘Losing Touch’, but the layers are denser and the musicianship even more refined. Elsewhere they cover Martika’s ‘Toy Soldiers’, and ‘ElectroWar’ is a stunning instrumental that’s a textbook example of how to create atmosphere. Superb.
By some bizarre coincidence, the new album from The Smashing Pumpkins hits the shops within a week of Oasis' new offering, as both bands approach their latest outing on the back of line-up unheavals, mounting media opprobrium and a previous release which sold roughly half of the one before that.
Ghostly, synthetic and smeared, possibly, in charcoal eye-liner, Billy Corgan’s first solo record throws a bleakly affectionate glance towards the ‘80s and the decade’s parade of sombre new-wave groups.
Irish indie supergroup Concerto For Constantine have been announced as the support act for the Smashing Pumpkins' eagerly-anticipated visits to Dublin and Belfast.
They're the hottest thing to come out of the Midlands since, well, ever. Slinker rockers Zing talk about growing up hooked on Michael Jackson and give us the lowdown on the Portlaoise scene.
A mish-mash of different sounds and styles from goth to Pumpkins-esque alternative to moany-sleazy-girl rock, Auf Der Maur’s album is lacking anything worthy of a mere toe-tap.
Those who loved the Pumpkins circa the sublime Siamese Dream should rejoice: although Zwan exhibit a far more poppy, straight-ahead musical approach, Corgan and his one remaining Pumpkins bandmate Jimmy Chamberlin seem to have rediscovered the freshness and liveliness that characterised that album.
Arising from the ashes of aborted supergroup Zwan, onetime Smashing Pumpkin Billy Corgan returns with a hotly anticipated solo debut. Still brimming with that patented goth angst, he tells Paul Nolan about his collaboration with fellow doom-merchant Robert Smith, his friendship with the two Davids – Lynch and Bowie – and, oh yeah, why he's still sore about the Pumpkins.
Melissa Auf Der Maur, the former Hole and Smashing Pumpkins bassist, on working with Courtney Love and Billy Corgan, and finding her own space in the male locker room. Interview by Peter Murphy.
With the tragedy which disfigured their last Irish appearance still fresh in people's minds, SMASHING PUMPKINS' return to a Dublin stage was never going to be an ordinary affair. As it turned out, PETER MURPHY witnessed an act of redemption and spoke to BILLY CORGAN about surviving troubled times.
They may be one of the hottest bands of the year, but Las Vegas synth fiends The Killers are planning to cool off this Christmas with some well-earned down-time and a skiing holiday in Utah. But not before they’ve discussed texting Charlize Theron, hanging with Elton John and that David Bowie tribute with Stuart Clark.
GARBAGE are a band who absorb all the detritus, darkness and despair of the pre-millennial zeitgeist and spit it back out in a torrent of searing guitars, futuristic technological trickery and lyrics that freeze the blood. They've also made two of the most sinister pop records of modern times - the second of which, Version 2.0, is due for imminent release. PETER MURPHY met them in London to discuss sex, surveillance, studio strife, pre-2000 tension and their special fondness for The Beach Boys.
The first time The Killers played Oxegen they fretted whether anyone would turn up to see them. Now they’re sweeping in to headline the main stage. They talk to us about being chased by papparazi, growing up in Middle America and sharing a bill with Bono and, er, Gary Barlow
JJ 72 have been hailed by some critics as the finest thing to come out of Ireland since U2 - and no wonder. With a hugely impressive debut album under their collective belt, the expectations are even higher for the follow-up, I To Sky. They share with their illustrious predecessors a predilection for intense songs of spiritual yearning - and a desire to make music that truly stands the test of time. But is it rock'n'roll?
This is a classic OST - the kind that enhances and embraces the moods of the film, rather than simply adding the cool tunes that you know (and want to buy) to its closing credits
It’s the second night of The Pixies’ three-gig run in the Olympia, and like the other two shows, this date is completely sold out. It’s not hard to fathom the level of interest, as the pitch is pretty irresistible – the legendary quartet performing Doolittle, one of the greatest ever alternative albums, in its entirety.
Nirvana - Ten years after. Peter Murphy talks to producer Butch Vig, musician Mark Lanegan and critic Greil Marcus, and gets the inside story of the making of Nevermind, the classic album that changed the face of music, unveiled the anthem 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' and brought the world face to face with a screaming soul called Kurt Cobain.
Contrary to the negative way in which it's so often portrayed by the national media, Limerick is a city that combines a rich sense of tradition with an eye for innovation and in recent years has developed into one of Ireland's leading cultural centres. Kevin Barry takes a look at the people - and the places - breathing new life into the mid-western capital.
How did Brandon Flowers, Ronnie Vannucci, Dave Keuning and Mark Stoermer go from the Las Vegas dive bar circuit to selling four million copies of their debut album, Hot Fuss? On the eve of the band's highly-anticipated Oxegen 2005 appearance, Stuart Clark talks to the people involved in the making of The Killers.
After two decades of electro-pop hits, the PET SHOP BOYS have gone back to basics with their new album Fundamental – and thrown some timely political digs into the mix while they’re at it. But the real battle is getting people to take them seriously.
. . . and ready to go. Mercury Rev s recent album Deserter s Songs was met with a rapturous critical reception, even topping the Hot Press critics end-of-year poll. On their recent Dublin visit they spoke to Peter Murphy about the album, The Band and their volatile past. Jonathan Donahue pics: Cathal Dawson
It s easy to trace the tracks of DAVE GAHAN s tears. Like the illustrated man, the marks on his body tell their own story. But not the whole story for this is a man who took heroin abuse to such a lethal extent that he was once clinically dead for two minutes. Now, after a long and painful battle, he s clean, sober and delighted that depeche mode have released the album that few ever expected them to make. Interview: Olaf Tyaransen.
First, the facts. Everything Picture is 102 minutes of music spread over two CDs, an audacious debut from an encouragingly unconventional Newcastle-originated quintet with a long and tumultuous history of in-fighting.
As openings go, Kissin' Time really could not have a worse beginning than 'Sex With Strangers', the first of the much vaunted Beck collaborations
After such travesties, Kissin' Time does rally somewhat in its closing moments
