Smashing Pumpkins Release ‘Zodeon At Crystal Ball’ On CD and Streaming
The Smashing Pumpkins had a very quiet release of ‘Zodeon At Crystal Ball’ at the end of 2025 on vinyl only as a limited edition. There was not much hoopla or talk beyond hardcore Pumpkins fans so now the band has given the mystery 1960s throwback themed album a full release. Here’s the original statement from Madame ZuZu’s:
‘"The official album release of The Smashing Pumpkins’ Zodeon At Crystal Hall is finally here!
Recorded during the pandemic and inspired by ’65 and ’66 British psych influences. This 12-track album is officially released on gorgeous 180g vellum clear vinyl. Tracks from Zodeon At Crystal Hall were originally available as 5 singles in the ATUM: A Rock Album in Three Acts boxset - this 12-track release includes 3 unreleased tracks and is sequenced the way it was always meant to be heard in stereo. With stunning art by Katelan Foisy and Chloé Mendel Corgan, this is a must-have for any SP fan.’
Much of the album is rock that features instruments one would hear on 1960s records like organ, mellotron and other keyboard choices that supplement the guitars and rhythm section."
The songs are around 3 minutes, typical of the era, and never get too loud or too soft. There’s no grunge, no shoegaze, just rock – psychedelic style, folk-rock style. Usually the songs roll along at mid-tempo with five or six instruments – all owed to the way it was done in the 1960s – from more playful, sunny melodies, to adding purposely naïve uplifting choruses. It’s closest ally may be Zwan, where Corgan and company played music that was airier and lighter than what he did with the Pumpkins.
Much of what the Smashing Pumpkins recorded over the years has been indebted to the 1960s rock era. Something like the psychedelic mellotron-like keyboards of “Crush” from their debut where they give off a Moody Blues vibe, or when they playing crushing hard rock only to completely halt and fall into a spacy quietly sparse float on “Geek U.S.A.” like The Yardbirds used to do.
Surprisingly, there were no singles released from the album, perhaps because the album feels like a one-off sound switch. ‘Zodeon at Crystal Hall’ is a project within the canon but a bit separate in entity from the rest of the catalog in that its being tied to an aural theme. Maybe it’s best viewed as an album than expect individual songs to separate from the pack.
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