Dusting The Stacks #2: Smashing Pumpkins-Pisces Iscariot

My appreciation for the Smashing Pumpkins began in a fairly logical place: Siamese Dream. It was the summer before my first year of college when I picked up the bands seminal classic and immediately upon hearing it I started working my way through the bands other albums, starting with Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, then Adore, Zeitgeist, and Gish. Finding the free download for the the limited vinyl-only release MACHINA II/The Friends And Enemies Of Modern Music proved to be a godsend. Although the album was the last before their (first) retirement and never saw a wide release, it remains one of my favorite releases from the band. But thats not what I'm here to talk about today. Towards the end of my hard-core Pumpkins phase, I purchased the bands b-side album Pisces Iscariot. I listened to the album one time upon purchasing it and then, sadly, moved on without ever giving it a fair chance. Hence, I've decided that the Smashing Pumpkins' 1994 release Pisces Iscariot is the subject of this weeks' episode of Dusting The Stacks.

Pisces Iscariot was released between arguably the bands two best albums, Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness and features b-sides, outtakes and demos recorded mostly during the Siamese Dream sessions. Despite being an odds and ends type collection, the album went platinum in the US and now, even a decade and a half after its release, its pretty easy to see why. The album is filled with the wall-of-sound-guitar-guided-missiles that made them famous, while simultaneously highlighting the bands softer side with plenty of beautifully articulated acoustic jams. However, Pisces Iscariot is not without its faults; it is, after all, a b-sides collection. Some of the tracks fall flat, well deserving their classification of what it means to be a b-side/outtake/demo. But lets not forget this is the Smashing Pumpkins and even at their worst, the band maintains a high level of what Bud Light marketing execs might call 'listenability'. The best parts of this album show us a truly great band in their prime taking some bold risks. These experiments may not always pay off, and they might not have fit into the bands other releases, but that doesn't mean that there aren't some really incredible songs. After some intense reconsideration and a number of full listens through the album, I've realized what a horrible mistake I made letting this album get so dusty. Highlights include a beautiful and honest cover of Fleetwood Mac's classic and oft covered single "Landslide" and the 11 minute slow-building epic "Starla". Other tracks like "Frail and Bedazzled" and "Hello Kitty Kat" are just as simultaneously aggressive and melodic as anything the band has ever released. Although I wouldn't recommend this as a starting point for new Pumpkins fans, anyone who has a pre-existing relationship with the band should consider picking this album up if they haven't already. Ultimately, Pisces Iscariot is a worthy and memorable, if not mildly flawed chapter in the Smashing Pumpkins canon.

Listen to the entire album free right here thanks to lala.com

Pisces Iscariot - Smashing Pum...