
Seven years after their last album, the Pumpkins (well, two of them, singer Billy Corgan and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin) reunite — and rehash. The avalanches of screeching guitars and hyper-earnest lyrics on United States and Tarantula take you back to the Pumpkins' mid-'90s heyday, but nothing here moves the band forward or sticks in your head. The alienation may abide, but the melodies just ain't what they used to be.