Smashing Pumpkins fans were dished out a nugget of good news today after guitarist Jeff Schroeder gave an update on the progress of the band’s forthcoming album.
Speaking to Anne Erickson of Audio Ink Radio about the progress of the next Smashing Pumpkins record, Shroeder said: “We’re about halfway through working on another big album, which is, basically, I guess, a sequel to Mellon Collie [And The Infinite Sadness and Machina, so it’s the third in a trilogy — more of a concept-based album.
“And this one is 33 songs. We’ve been working for a long — almost, basically, the whole year on it.
He continued: “But we’re in the middle of real tracking and stuff right now. James [Iha, guitar] and I are working out here in L.A. Drums are basically done, so Jimmy’s [Chamberlin] done his part.
“But [Smashing Pumpkins singer] Billy is working in Chicago, and I’m out here in L.A., and James is in L.A., so we’re ploughing through it. That’ll probably take most of the rest of the year, ’cause it’s a big, sprawling thing.”
Speaking of the challenges the Smashing Pumpkins band members faced amid the album’s creation, Shroeder added: “It’s been very challenging to work on a piece that big, because even for me as a guitar player, usually you’re always kind of working on things and you have a bunch of ideas to try on these new tracks.
“And then, after four songs, you’re like, ‘Okay, I’ve gotta come up with some other stuff.’ So, then you work hard and get through the first 11 songs, and you’re. like, ‘Oh, wait a second. That’s only the first act. I’ve got two more acts to go!'”
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“So, you’ve really gotta dig in deep,” he continued.
“You’ve gotta dig deep into your soul to find out what is in there. What’s this song calling for? How can I listen to this song differently than I listened to the last one? And it really pushes you artistically.
“Some days it’s hard, and we fail. I fail. And then you come back the next day and try again, and it’s rewarding when you go, ‘Wow, yesterday sucked, and today is actually quite good on the same song.’ So it can be fun.”
Smashing Pumpkins’ latest album, Cyr, was released in November via Sumerian Records.
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