The Smashing Pumpkins have announced the release of their 13th studio album, Aghori Mhori Mei. It'll be released on August 2, and finds frontman Billy Corgan moving forward by looking back to the era that produced the band's much-loved first three albums, Gish, Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.
"In the writing of this new album I became intrigued with the well-worn axiom, 'you can’t go home again'," Corgan explains. “Which I have found personally to be true in form but thought well, what if we tried anyway? Not so much in looking backwards with sentimentality but rather as a means to move forward; to see if in the balance of success and failure that our ways of making music circa 1990-1996 would still inspire something revelatory."
Corgan expands further during a teaser video published via the band's social media channels, revealing that there won't be any singles taken from the album prior to its initial, digital-only release.
"We've played this game of rock'n'roll for 36 years and had to give the knee many times to 'What's the first song? What's the first statement? - and let other people judge us by one moment in time.
"We felt the right way to hear this record was as an intact body of work. 10 songs, about 45 minutes, and then let the fans decide whether or not what we've done is what we set out to accomplish, whether we put ourselves back in that original position, whether we were able to go home again with this record. So on August 2 2024 it'll be there for everyone to listen to.
"We're just going to put it out digitally – of course, we're going to put it for sale, and that comes later, but we want to just put the record out. We're proud of what we've done but we want people to hear the record as one body of work. And they can decide the value of what we have done."
The band have launched a pre-sale sign-up form for those wishing to purchase a deluxe vinyl version of Aghori Mhori Mei.
We asked Chat GPT if it could tell us what the album title means, but it turns out that artificial intelligence doesn't have the answer to everything.
"Aghori Mhori Mei doesn't have a specific, widely-known meaning in any language, and Billy Corgan hasn't provided a detailed explanation," the software responded. "However, the word 'Aghori' refers to a sect of Hindu ascetics known for their unconventional practices, while the rest of the title remains unclear and could be a creative or personal reference by Corgan."
The Smashing Pumpkins embark on a US tour later this month, and play a newly-announced run of South American shows in November. Full dates below.
Aghori Mhori Mei: Tracklist
1) Edin
2) Pentagrams
3) Sighommi
4) Pentecost
5) War Dreams Of Itself
6) Who Goes There
7) 999
8) Goeth The Fall
9) Sicarus
10) Murnau
The Smashing Pumpkins: 2024 Tour Dates
Jul 29: Washington Nationals Park, DC#^*
Jul 31: Bala The KEE, ON, Canada
Aug 01: Toronto Rogers Centre, ON, Canada#^*
Aug 04: Bangor Maine Savings Amphitheater, ME @
Aug 05: Queens Citi Field, NY #^*
Aug 07: Boston Fenway Park, MA#^*
Aug 09: Philadelphia Citizens Bank Park, PA#^*
Aug 10: Hershey Hersheypark Stadium, PA#^*
Aug 13: Chicago Wrigley Field, IL#^*
Aug 14: Kansas City Starlight Theatre, MO%
Aug 16: Springfield Illinois State Fair, IL%
Aug 17: Minneapolis Target Field, MN#^*
Aug 18: Sioux City Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, IA%
Aug 20: Waukee Vibrant Music Hall, IA@
Aug 21: Maryland Heights Hollywood Casino Amphitheatr, MO%
Aug 22: Cincinnati Great American Ballpark, OH#^*
Aug 24: Milwaukee American Family Field, WI#^*
Aug 27: Simpsonville CCNB Amphitheatre at Heritage Park, SC%
Aug 28: Atlanta Truist Park, GA#^*
Aug 30: Nashville Geodis Park, TN #^*
Sep 01: Pittsburgh PNC Park, PA #^*
Sep 04: Detroit Comerica Park, MI#^*
Sep 07: Denver Coors Field, CO#^*
Sep 10: Southaven BankPlus Amphitheater at Snowden Grove, MS%
Sep 11: Arlington Globe Life Field, TX#^*
Sep 14: Inglewood SoFi Stadium, CA#^*
Sep 18: Phoenix Chase Field, AZ#^*
Sep 20: San Francisco Oracle Park, CA#^*
Sep 21: Reno Grand Theatre at Grand Sierra Resort, NV@
Sep 23: Seattle T-Mobile Park, WA#^*
Sep 24: Airway Heights BECU Live Outdoor Venue, WA @
Sep 25: Portland Providence Park, OR#^*
Sep 27: Las Vegas BleauLive Theater, NV%
Sep 28: San Diego Petco Park, CA#^*
Nov 01: Brasilia Arena BRB, Brazil
Nov 03: São Paulo Espaço Unimed, Brazil
Nov 05: Buenos Aires Movistar Arena, Argentina
Nov 10: Lima, Peru (Venue to be determined)
Nov 12: Quito Coliseo General Ruinahui, Ecuador
Nov 14: Bogota Movistar Arena, Colombia
Nov 16: San Jose Parque Viva, Costa Rica
∞ with Weezer
~ with Interpol
# with Green Day
^ with Rancid
* with The Linda Lindas
% with Pvris
@ with The Glorious Sons
