The Smashing Pumpkins Share First Two Episodes Of 'In Ashes' Animated Series, New Singles [Watch/Listen]

Friday was a banner day for The Smashing Pumpkins, as the band released a veritable trove of content—at least compared to their output the last couple of years. The band shared two new singles from the forthcoming Cyr album, “Confessions of a Dopamine Addict” and “Wrath”, as well as the first two installments of the animated In Ashes video series.

The forthcoming 20-song album will also be the second release since the mostly-original lineup got back together in 2018, featuring frontman Billy Corgan, James Iha, Jimmy Chamberlin, and longtime guitarist Jeff Schroeder, with bassist D’arcy Wretzky as the only missing original member.

Starting with the first two of five episodes of the In Ashes series, the animated videos shed some more light on the themes surrounding Cyr. While the first two singles, “Cyr” and “The Colour of Love“, presented more modern elements than some may not have expected from the return of the band’s original lineup, the visual accompaniment for “The Colour of Love”—episode one of In Ashes—places this sound in context. The video’s dystopian setting provides the ideal background for Corgan and company’s synth-driven approach with synthetic-sounding drums. Corgan said of the album when it was first announced,

Cyr is dystopic folly. One soul against the world sort of stuff, set against a backdrop of shifting loyalties and sped-up time. To me it stands as both hopeful and dismissive of what is and isn’t possible with faith.

As for episode two of In Ashes—the music video for the new single “Confessions Of A Dopamine Addict”— The Smashing Pumpkins trade dystopia for dimethyltryptamine as the characters embark on an intense psychedelic journey. Given the song’s title, the video’s subject matter makes sense—though when taken as a part of the larger story that began in episode one—the meaning is a little murkier.

“The original story is something I’ve written and although it’s (mostly) lighthearted, In Ashes does address many things we face each day,” Corgan said in a statement about In Ashes. “That is… if… we live in dystopia, or paradise, or both. The choice, some say, is yours; and could even be a quantum issue.”

Finally, the other new single “Wrath”, released alongside both the audio and video for “Confessions Of A Dopamine Addict”, continues many of the musical themes running through the previously-released songs. At this point, it appears that synth-driven, electrodrum beats are the new normal for The Smashing Pumpkins, which is a shame given the presence of Iha. Yet, at the core of the new songs are the dour lyrics of Corgan who can inspire deep-seated feelings of alienation in even the most well-adjusted Pumpkins fan.

Watch the first two episodes of The Smashing Pumpkins’ video series In Ashes, and listen to the new single “Wrath”, below. Cyr is out on November 27th via Sumerian, click here to pre-order.

The Smashing Pumpkins – In Ashes Ep 1 (“The Colour Of Love” Official Video)

[Video: Smashing Pumpkins]

The Smashing Pumpkins – In Ashes Ep 2 (“Confessions Of A Dopamine Addict” Official Video)

[Video: Smashing Pumpkins]

The Smashing Pumpkins – “Wrath”

[Video: Smashing Pumpkins]