Shiny and Oh So Bright Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun. is the tenth studio album by the alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins, released on November 16, 2018 through Napalm Records. Produced by Rick Rubin, it is the band’s first album to feature founding members James Iha and Jimmy Chamberlin since Machina The Machines of God (2000) and Zeitgeist (2007), respectively.
Initially planned as two four-song EPs, the release was preceded by the singles “Solara”, “Silvery Sometimes (Ghosts)”, and “Knights of Malta”, and reached number fifty-four on the US Billboard 200 chart. In early February 2018, it was announced that original members James Iha and Jimmy Chamberlin had rejoined the band.
The reunited line-up, alongside longtime guitarist Jeff Schroeder, started production on new material in February 2018 with Rick Rubin producing, the first time he had worked with the band since the Adore album cycle. Recording took place at Shangri La recording studio, Malibu, California. The group originally presented eight song demos to Rubin with the intention of releasing one as a comeback single.
After Rubin approved of all eight, the group planned two four-song EPs, the first of which was originally scheduled to be released in May 2018. In September 2018, it was announced that the EPs would take the form of a full-length album. Former bassist D’arcy Wretzky claims Iha and Rubin‘s involvement in the album was limited, saying:
“He (Iha) was only involved in the one Rick Rubin song. Billy’s got a lot of nerve going out there saying Rick recorded the whole album. He only had a week to record one song.”
The album’s first single, “Solara”, was released on June 8, 2018. The second single “Silvery Sometimes (Ghosts)” was released on September 13, 2018. The opening track “Knights of Malta” was secretly released as a private YouTube video on November 7, 2018.
Tracklist:
SIDE A
- Knights of Malta
- Silvery Sometimes (Ghosts)
- Travels
- Solara
SIDE B
- Alienation
- Marchin’ On
- With Sympathy (Corgan, Jimmy Chamberlin)
- Seek and You Shall Destroy
The Smashing Pumpkins
Billy Corgan: vocals, guitar, bass guitar, keyboards
James Iha: guitar, bass guitar
Jeff Schroeder: guitar
Jimmy Chamberlin: drums
Additional musicians
The Section Quartet: strings on “Knights of Malta” and “Alienation”
Daphne Chen: violin
Richard Dodd: cello
Eric Forman: violin
Leah Katz: viola
Production
Rick Rubin: production
Dana Nielsen: recording, mixing
Jason Lader: additional recordings, strings recording
Davis Spreng: additional recordings
Vlado Meller: mastering
