SMASHING PUMPKINS Add Political Edge To 'Zeitgeist'

Launch Radio Networks reports: SMASHING PUMPKINS release their first album of new material in seven years, titled "Zeitgeist", on Tuesday (July 10). From the cover art to some of the lyrical content, it seems that there's a new political edge to the band. Frontman Billy Corgan said that it's a result of the times we're living in. "We've avoided politics," he said. "We've avoided making a political statement. But at this point, the politic of our country is interwoven into our daily lives. I mean, it's inescapable. Every time you go through an airport you're reminded. It gets in your DNA, it's not this existential concept. It's that contradiction that I think a lot of citizens feel, which is, like, we really love our country, we're not sure about the way it's going, we're not sure what we can do, we're not sure even what we can say. It's a really weird time."

The cover, created by artist Shepard Fairey, features the Statue of Liberty drowning in a rising red-colored tide, with the sun either rising or setting behind her. The artist said that the image was both a comment on global warming as well as the political situation in the U.S.

"Zeitgeist" is now streaming in its entirety at AOL Music and Spinner.com. The CD follows up 2000's "MACHINA/The Machines of God", the last officially released collection of new material from the group before it broke up.

The PUMPKINS will perform 13 shows at the Fillmore in San Francisco later this month and have also announced a major fall tour, beginning on September 8 in Montreal. Tickets go on sale July 14.