American Gothic | ||||
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EP by The Smashing Pumpkins | ||||
Released | January 1, 2008 | |||
Recorded | December 2007 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 17:01 | |||
Language | English | |||
Label | Reprise | |||
Producer | ||||
The Smashing Pumpkins chronology | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Consequence of Sound | C- |
Drowned in Sound | 4/10 |
American Gothic is an EP by The Smashing Pumpkins. The EP was announced on the band's website on December 19, 2007 with songwriter Billy Corgan describing it as a continuation of their 2007 album Zeitgeist. It was released digitally on January 2, 2008 and as a CD in the United Kingdom on February 11, 2008.
After playing "Again Again Again" in Los Angeles in late 2006 at an event organized by Pete Townshend's girlfriend, Corgan was asked by Townshend himself if the song was going to be on Zeitgeist. While the song did not make the album, Corgan always planned to release it in some form, resulting in its appearance on American Gothic.
Corgan said of the EP
Corgan also made high-resolution artwork for the EP available for download through the band's website.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Billy Corgan stated that, with American Gothic and the new single "G.L.O.W.", the band "finally turned the corner... where it's starting to feel like our music again, and not theirs, whoever 'they' might be," referring to the band's choice to continue making music without a record label.
The EP contains four acoustic tracks that feature folk strumming. Their sound has been described as "an extension of the straight-ahead alternative rock sound that the Smashing Pumpkins returned to on the band's 2007 comeback outing, Zeitgeist." The EP also features a more polished production work in contrast to the band's previous acoustic music input, which mostly consisted of demos.
The track "The Rose March" features an electric rhythm guitar and guitar picking reminiscent of The Smashing Pumpkins' early work, as well as overdubbed harmonies. The track "Again, Again, Again (The Crux)", which was described to be catchiest on the EP, features drum fills played by the Smashing Pumpkins Jimmy Chamberlin. The "jangly" track "Pox" was described as "the pick of the bunch, grungy acoustic and bass fairly thrumming with latent menace," while the track "Sunkissed" is an atmospheric song that "recaptures some of the group's '90s verve."