The Smashing Pumpkins were one of the more interesting bands in the US’s alternative rock scene throughout the 90’s. Forming in Chicago in 1988 and breaking through with 1993’s ‘Siamese Dream’, Corgan and co. set themselves apart from the pack of American grunge bands with their ambitious approach to songwriting and theatre with ‘Mellon Collie’ in 1995. A 28-track double-album with conceptual elements, diverse instrumentation and Corgan’s iconic nasal vocals, the album brought Smashing Pumpkins seven Grammy nominations. Five singles released from the album, including hits ‘Zero’, ‘Tonight, Tonight’, and ‘Bullet With Butterfly Wings’ which won the Grammy in the Best Hard Rock Performance with Vocal category.

Corgan, who wrote the majority of The Smashing Pumpkins’ music, gave ‘Mellon Collie’ a new lease of life in 2025 with its operatic reimagining. Working with Grammy-nominated conductor James Lowe, the music has been re-composed for the full 60-piece orchestra to back Corgan’s vocals. To give it its full title, the show ‘A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness Featuring Billy Corgan’ had a 7 show residency at Chicago’s Lyric Opera House last November.

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It was announced today that the show will be going international this September, starting with two nights at the Royal Festival Hall in London’s Southbank Centre. From there, it goes to Belgium, France and Spain. Guest vocalists are arranged, with Ed Parks performing in London, Antwerp and Paris, while Madrid’s show has Sydney Mancasola, Zoie Reams, Dominick Valdes Chenes and Dean Murphy. The full list of shows is below.

September:
• 1 – Royal Festival Hall, London
• 2 – Royal Festival Hall, London
• 6 – Queen Elisabeth Hall, Antwerp (two shows)
• 8 – Salle Pleye, Paris
• 9 – Salle Pleye, Paris
• 11 – Palacio Vistalegre, Madrid

A press release describes the shows as looking to “re-imagine and pay homage to the era-defining album of the same name, whilst also expanding the definition and intention of opera”. Corgan, who is now also a popular podcaster and promotes his own wrestling company, posted on social media site X to say he was “so excited that this is finally announced! Thank you to all that have asked and are interested in attending. I guarantee you won’t be sorry if you do…”. He also took to Instagram to share his thoughts on the unique fusion of rock and opera in the concert, writing “opera and rock both tell stories of heightened emotions, and I am excited for both fans of my music and traditional opera fans to hear some truly inspired work; for the balance here is to honor both traditions in a magisterial way.”

Pre-sale tickets for the London shows go on sale tomorrow, Tuesday the 12th of May, at 10am, with general sale commencing at 10am on Thursday the 14th. A 30th anniversary reissue of ‘Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness’ released in January this year, with The Smashing Pumpkins also due to drop a 35th anniversary version of debut album ‘Gish’ on the 29th of May on Corgan’s web store.

‘Emita Ox’ will be the follow-up to the band’s self-titled second album which was released last year to acclaim. According to a press release the upcoming LP sees them push “harder into heavy distortion and psychedelic dreamscapes”. The band co-produced the album themselves along with Alex Farrar who has worked with the likes of MJ Lenderman and Indigo De Souza. The production of the album demonstrates how the band’s tastes and influences have changed over the years, now being influenced by more progressive and experimental bands such as Swans and Black Midi. The group’s bassist, Mikaela Oppenheimer, said that “This album encompasses a lot of our inspirations. It also shows what we’re like as a trio, collectively.” 

The forthcoming project was recorded earlier this year in Asherville, North Carolina, with the band playing all the instruments heard on the record. The album sees the band’s contributions to the songwriting and production bleed into each other as well as being a showcase of their individual strengths as musicians. Drummer, Stella Wave said: “We map out all the sections beforehand, we like to write intricate parts that complement each other”.

She continued talking about how the songs on the album represent tough times for the band: “This album represents a period of time that’s very meaningful to us. The songs are related to things that we all know about, even if it’s not out on the table for everyone else. The songwriting and recording process was a very heavy time that I will never forget.” 

‘Three’ references the title of the album as it tells the fairy tale of a girl named Emita and her pet Ox. Singer, Helena Straight, said: “‘Three’ was written after I’d been in a creative rut that lasted a couple months. I wasn’t focused on getting any message across. My intention was just to write a full song, whether I ended up liking it or not.”  

The full track list and artwork for ‘Emita Ox’ is below: 

1. Float
   2. 0%
   3. Three
   4. Down My Life
   5. Knowing You
   6. Heavy Sleeper
   7. Footstep Misstep
   8. Courtesy
   9. Hiyeahi
   10. Bubble
   11. Everything We Do 

As well as releasing their new album later this year, the group are set to play a run of shows in the UK. They’ll be making their Debut in the UK, playing a set at the End Of The Road Festival later this month as well as playing Manchester Psych Fest and Edinburgh Psych Fest. They will then play two headline shows in London at The Windmill Brixton and The Shackwell Arms respectively. They will then take to the stage on a run of dates as support for American Football. You can buy the remaining tickets for their UK shows here.

Hello Mary’s full list of 2024 UK dates are below: 

Aug 30 – End of the Road Festival – Dorset, UK
Aug 31 – Manchester Psych Fest – Manchester, UK
Sept 1 – Edinburgh Psych Fest – Edinburgh, UK
Sept. 4 – The Shacklewell Arms – London, UK 
Sept 5 – Brixton Windmill – London, UK 
Sept 11 – Rock City – Nottingham, UK
Sept 12 – Barrowland Ballroom – Glasgow, UK
Sept 13 – Bristol SWX – Bristol, UK 
Sept 14 – Roundhouse – London, UK 

Paying tribute to Nirvana’s third and final album, the album artwork has been recreated on a pink background. Fans are being encouraged to visit the mural and to leave their messages for the band, honouring the 1993 album.

A mural has been unveiled in Camden to celebrate 30th anniversary of Nirvana’s third and final album, In Utero https://t.co/4JX5whFC8N pic.twitter.com/xQV9QpzHSO

— THE LINE of BEST FIT (@bestfitmusic) November 1, 2023

In Utero was an instant critical and commercial success, debuting at No.1 on the UK Albums Chart and No.1 on the US Billboard 200. The album included iconic tracks such as “Heart-Shaped Box,” “Dumb” and “Rape Me.” To celebrate its 30th anniversary, a special edition reissue of the album was released last week.  

The 30th Anniversary Edition of In Utero is out now! https://t.co/OOTiUVYqsR The Super Deluxe box sets contains 53 unreleased tracks, including two never before released complete concerts from the In Utero tour. Find your preferred format here: https://t.co/OOTiUVYqsR… pic.twitter.com/GtCAIwagvF — Nirvana (@Nirvana) October 27, 2023

Speaking on the album’s impact, Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic said, “When you listen to it, it goes somewhere. It’s dark, it’s beautiful, it’s all points in between. It’s bittersweet. We recorded it in about a week and a few of the songs were the first take. We were well-rehearsed and loved playing together. That was our glue as a band. We played live and it was live to tape.”

Novoselic continued, “It’s amazing what can happen when three people with instruments get together. You could make so much sound in a way that captures the imagination. That’s the beauty of music: you invite people in. The record can be pretty, but it can also be dark. Going back to this record, I was just reminded of our humanity as a group. There were a lot of different statements on there and that’s what you get: the post-’Nevermind’ Nirvana, after becoming a world-famous band.”

The 30th anniversary reissue of In Utero has been released in several formats, including a limited-edition eight LP super deluxe box set, a five CD super deluxe box set and a digital super deluxe edition, amongst others.

Novoselic shared his thoughts on the reissue, saying, “This one’s got a lot of cool things like backstage passes and little things you can hold, like The Who’s ‘Live At Leeds’ record.”

He continued, “I’m excited about the live shows on there, because they used AI. We took the digital audio tapes from the soundboard in Rome, Seattle and Los Angeles, then the AI can separate all the instruments and we got a really good mix out of it.”

The In Utero 30th anniversary reissue is available to purchase in various formats here.

Stream In Utero (30th Anniversary Super Deluxe) below.

Weezer announced the tour on X, stating, “Today is the greatest day we’ve ever known. UK and Ireland we’re coming back around to co-headline a handful of shows next summer with @SmashingPumpkin“.

The Smashing Pumpkins, who have just come off their US tour, announced soon after, “SP is excited to announce we will be touring UK & Ireland next year with Weezer.”

With multiple, multi-platinum records and careers spanning about 30 years, these US bands are sure to thrill UK and Irish fans. Just last year, US fans experienced this powerful rock concoction at BeachLife Festival in California where both bands headlined.

For Weezer, they are returning to the UK after their highly anticipated, Hella Mega, sold-out stadium tour with Green Day and Fallout Boy which was initially delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. 2022 saw Weezer release an innovative quartet of EP’s titled SZNZ – each album changing its sound to correspond to the feeling and emotions of the four seasons.

Since their debut studio album release in 1994 with Weezer (often referred to as the ‘Blue Album‘), this Los Angeles group have amassed billions of streams, over 10 million album sales in the US and over 35 million record sales internationally.

Chicago rock icons, The Smashing Pumpkins, have had their fair share of success since forming in 1988. Their unique and pioneering sound, which blended various music genres previously unexplored by the world, paved the way for them to achieve enduring iconic status. Their name quickly became synonymous with 90’s alternative rock.

In November 2022, The Smashing Pumpkins began to release a trilogy of rock opera albums titled, ATUM. Past albums they have released have been critically acclaimed and commercially successful. Siamese Dream (1993), which just celebrated its 30th year anniversary, has since gone quadruple-platinum and was placed no.18 in Pitchfork’s ‘Top 100 Albums of the 90’s’.

Tickets for their UK and Ireland co-headlining tour will go on sale Friday 20th October at 10am: get the link here.

Touring dates for The Smashing Pumpkins and Weezer:

07/06/2024 – Birmingham Utilita Arena – Birmingham
08/06 – The O2 Arena – London
10/06 –  3Arena – Dublin
12/06 – Glasgow OVO Hydro – Glasgow
13/06 – Manchester Co-op Live – Manchester
14/06 – Cardiff Castle – Cardiff

The band has unveiled their plans for four consecutive dates at The Garage in London from Sunday the 12^th November to Wednesday the 15^th November and a residency at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn in early December.

Tickets for the London dates go on general sale Friday 26^th May at 10 am BST. See here for tickets and more information.

Celebrating 30 years of “Where You Been” in London 11/12-11/15 and NYC 12/1-12/3 & 12/5-12/8

Tickets for both shows go on sale this week. Artist presale for NYC is on sale tomorrow.

Sign up for the email list (https://t.co/iMmfjSlXJY ) to receive the access code pic.twitter.com/H4VQduBwxx

— Dinosaur Jr (@dinosaurjr) May 22, 2023

The noisy, raw, yet melodic Where You Been arrived on the (freak) scene in February 1993. After J Mascis largely recorded Green Mind himself, Where You Been was the beginning of Dinosaur Jr.’s new lineup with Murph returning on drums, the newly appointed Mike Johnson on bass, and J Mascis leading the trio. “It’s the first time we’ve felt like a band for maybe six years, or something,” Mascis mumbled to MTV’s 120 Minutes in 1993, “[Johnson] adds a lot, just having someone that I can get along with musically and personally. It just makes the record better having all the people there contributing something, rather than the last one.” Watch the interview below:

Where You Been became the band’s most successful record up to that point reaching number 50 on The Billboard 200 and number 10 on the UK charts. Receiving overwhelmingly positive reviews, the album was listed on several music publications’ best album of the year lists and on Select Magazine’s best of the 90s tier list.

Watch the video for the single “Start Choppin'” below:

The band reissued a remastered and expanded edition of the influential album in 2019 including B-sides and peel session recordings on blue vinyl.

J Mascis, Lou Barlow, and Murph have been the new Dinosaur Jr. lineup since the band’s reunion in 2005. The unit’s most recent record, Swept Into Space, was released in 2021 through Jagjaguwar. Produced by Mascis and the laidback psychedelic singer-songwriter Kurt Vile, the band’s 12^th studio LP won over critics and fans, proving the band is still masters of alt-rock.

The three-piece have a packed schedule ahead of them with plenty of US festival and tour dates from June until September planned.

See below for Dinosaur Jr.’s UK shows:

12/11/23 – The Garage – London
13/11 – The Garage – London
14/11 – The Garage – London
15/11 – The Garage – London

‘Blue Weekend’ had high expectations, all of which have been met. What more could be expected from the group who have a history of critical acclaim and unique potency on the indie music scene. Back in 2017 Wolf Alice’s ‘Visions of a Life’ won the Mercury Price for that year’s best album. ‘Blue Weekend’ is consistent with the reputation their previous productions awarded them – a reputation of grungy, alt rock and an extremely promising future.

OUR 3RD ALBUM BLUE WEEKEND IS OUT NOW! We put our hearts in to this album & it means nothing more to see you all enjoy it thank you endlessy for your kind words & support We forgot to bring an album to take a picture with so here we are with our second favourite thing – fry ups pic.twitter.com/IXbC2G7umD

— Wolf Alice (@wolfalicemusic) June 4, 2021

Each track on the album produces an immensely emotional account of commonly held and relatable anxieties that young people have in a modern age. With these anxieties are the hardships that come with them. Wolf Alice highlight these hardships as heartbreak, struggles of individuality and even the loss of friendship. Such emotion is captivatingly expressed by Ellie Rowsell – guitar and vocalist for Wolf Alice. Together with the rest of the band: guitarist Joff Oddie, bassist Theo Ellis and drummer Joel Amey, they produce the perfect mix of sensitivity and hard edge. As each track in the album passes, an ongoing battle between whispered lyrics and moments of shouting contribute to a unique energy that is in constant fluctuation.

The indie band’s new album, only released today, is already receiving critical praise, proving that the bands ambitious career is ongoing. Alexis Petridis for the Guardian, in review of ‘Blue Weekend’, gave the album five stars. Petridis recognises the album as “a lunge for something bigger” and he states, “there’s something undeniable about it, the beguiling sound of a band doing what they do exceptionally well, so that even the most devoted naysayer might be forced to understand its success”.

In light of this recognised success, it is undeniable that we can expect to see a lot more from Wolf Alice and their sublime grunge, alt rock. Not only did they release a new album today, but they also released the tickets for their upcoming US tour, which is set to start this fall and can be read about here.

‘Blue Weekend‘ is a brilliant and immense 40 minute journey accompanied by the outstanding balance of orchestral rock and sensitive, first-person confession.

The EP has been highly awaited since the release of her single ‘Feels Right’ in 2020. ‘Feels Right’ as a single contributed to the artists varied and powerful discography, which has been developing since her first EP ‘Big Fan of The Sesh, Vol.1’. The same and more can be said for the inclusion of ‘The Sky Is Bleeding’.

‘The Sky Is Bleeding’ shows Biig Piig’s ever-evolving production of original and nuanced music, but this time with a lustful, intimate touch. The tracks, from ‘Remedy’ to ‘American Beauty’ are a production of the experiences of youth, contributing to a personal yet relatable narrative.

In speaking about her EP Smyth described it as “one about secrets; kind of written for myself, but putting them out into the world. No shame and guilt – it’s healing thinking it’ll be out there”.

Smyth’s reputation for unique and experimental music is evident in her new EP, which was released on May 21st. Mixed with the alternative, indie genre that Biig Piig is most commonly associated with, the artist can be seen developing music in genres such as jazz in the track ‘Tarzan’. This experimental take on music is all achieved whilst Smyth maintains her effortless, 90’s grunge image.

Biig Piig is an unforgettable name, with a unique image and sound. In an interview with Loud and Quiet Smyth explains the origin of the name Biig Piig. Originally a name she read on a pizza menu; the name stuck. In the same interview, Smyth said:

“I feel like the more I hang out with myself, and the more I hang out with my music, it’s becoming more apparent that’s what I am. I’m just a big mess, in a nice way…Everything, my whole life, has been a big scramble. The big pig…the big mess… but in a way, that’s the sweetest thing”

There is no doubt that ‘The Sky Is Bleeding’ proves the evolving talent of Smyth and the music world can only expect to see a lot more of her. Biig Piig is set to be performing across the UK this summer at festivals such as Bestival and Tramlines. She is also supporting Glass Animals on their UK tour in November this year.

You can listen to ‘The Sky is Bleeding‘ on Spotify now.

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The tracks are anthems in their own right, with GIRLI showing off her genre eclectic explorations – from bubblegum pop, punk to rap. The EP opens with fierce-pop banger ‘Has Been’. GIRLI’s raw vocals combined with the ‘punch in the air’ backing which is reminiscent of Dream Wife’s ‘Hey Heartbreaker’ and Riot Grrrl bands such as Bikini Kill. ‘I’ll do me / so you do you’, which GIRLI sings sums up the tracks overall message.

‘Passive Agressive’ is similarly a track with a Riot Grrrl feel to it, centred on ‘anyone who has talked about you behind your back then been nice to your face’. A narrative that too many have experience, GIRLI asks why this has to happen with a grunge-pop beat and infectious chorus ‘that is impossible not to shout and dance around the room to.’

‘Letter to my Ex’ dropped last year and was named an ‘anti-pop bop’. Opening with ‘I feel so f***ing sad / I feel so f***ing free / I feel so good now you’re not the one who’s f***ing me’, already invokes a sense of closure with chaotic instrumental leaving one feeling – as GIRLI puts it – “angry or sad or happy or sexy or all of it”.

‘What A Shame!’ offers a new side of GIRLI from the previous tracks. The track follows a more melodic rock theme with the chorus harbouring vivid electro-synths. GIRLI’s message essentially speaks to seeing someone date someone that changes them and they realise it too late. What a shame. She conjures the images singing, ‘You play the fool so then he can be king / It’s a tragedy /Oh, what a shame, shame, shame, shame’. In typical GIRLI fashion, the emotional vulnerability combined with ironic imagery creates a raw and relatable track.

The final track on the EP differs completely to the usual grunge-pop beat GIRLI masters. The slower ballad strips away the usual chaotic beat behind GIRLI’s vocals, allowing the listener to hear the raw, emotional lyrics of GIRLI’s experiences with heartbreak and relationships. The honesty of GIRLI’s vulnerability as the end of the EP shows the range of emotions experienced when going through heartbreak – anger, not caring and empowerment to confusion and vulnerability.

The honesty throughout ‘Ex Talk’ and range of emotions invoked shows GIRLI’s ability to master relatable lyricism with either an up-beat bop or slower, melodic ballad. GIRLI has a podcast called GIRLI IRL, where she speaks to other artists about their experiences with feminism, queerness and relationships. Guests include Ella Grace Denton and Nadya from Pussy Riot. The promise of ‘more to come‘ and this being a ‘new era for GIRLI’ only excites existing fans and new comers in to what experiences the artist will spin in to relatable anthems next.

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FAKE IT FLOWERS IS FINALLY OUT FOR THE WORLD TO HEAR WTF. I really didn’t expect this much anticipation on this album let alone people even giving a fuck so this is crazy to me. I hope you enjoyed this world we created for you guys, from the music videos, to the live sessions to the artwork, i and everyone involved worked so hard on this and it’s so strange it’s finally out in the world I’m so proud of this album, I wrote every song in my little smelly bedroom and wear my heart on my sleeve, Cry to it, dance to it, hate it, love it, I hope it makes you feel something because it’s fucking sick. Reading all the reviews feels like a dream I’m so happy Thank you fake it flowers for existing and letting me vomit my feelings out. I’m gonna get in my pants and dance to this album in my bedroom now and I hope you do the same you guys are sick, I hope this album makes you feel badass I love u

A post shared by beabadoobee (@radvxz) on Oct 15, 2020 at 4:02pm PDT

In case you missed her phenomenal rise to fame online, Beabadoobee is the stage name of Beatrice Laus who was born in the Philippines and raised in London, where she attended and was subsequently kicked out of a Catholic all-girls school. All of this is important because all of it finds its way into her music one way or another – for twenty years old, she is insightful about the real world. ‘

Care’ is one of the best openings to an album in a very long time – impeccably tight and bursting with just the right amount of pop, it is the grunge declaration that Beabadoobee’s fans have been waiting for. In forty minutes, Fake It Flowers then races through styles, emotions and catchy lyrics – a whistle-stop tour of Beatrice Laus’ listening habits and influences. In every interview, she name-drops a series of inspirations: Pavement (anyone who knows about her will know this), The Cranberries, Elliott Smith, Lush, Smashing Pumpkins. All of them are here.

‘Charlie Brown’ covers a difficult subject for Beabadoobee with regard to her own mental health. Followed by ‘Emo Song’ (we’ve all been there), the middle section of the album is heavy in a way that will surely really resonate with her fans and their experiences. She is well aware that despite her nineties fascination, she occupies a moment when teenagers’ lives can be complicated and messy, and you have a sense that she is relieved to be honest about this.

‘Horen Sarrison’ is the loveliest love song; it reads like a ode to being young and in love and it flitting between massive feelings and the comforting cornerstones of your day-to-day life. These are as mundane as the last bus, but I know what she means when she conjures up the last bus in her meditation on love.

‘Yoshimi. Forest. Magdalene’ evidently owes something major to The Flaming Lips, and it also contains the most relatable opening lines of 2020: “He—, hold up, fuck / He—, what the fuck? / Sounds like a fart … / He smells very nice.” While Laus covers some difficult and personal ground across the album, sometimes they are just the lyrics of what’s important to a twenty year old girl, and that matters too.

Fake It Flowers listening paaaaartttyyyy Saturday night. Follow #FAKEITFLOWERS and press play at 7pm UK. pic.twitter.com/Ltp4OMPCJz

— beabadoobee (@beabad00bee) October 15, 2020

From her rise to fame on Tiktok, with ‘death bed (coffee for your head)’, those who were just keeping half an eye out for what she was up to might not have registered the depth of her grunge sensibility. Fake It Flowers is a fully-fledged, layered, clashing album of wall-of-sound guitar followed by slow, personal acoustic moments. Beabadoobee knows her stuff about the nineties. When asked by The Independent what she used her first professional pay check from her record label to buy, she told them, “a Francoise Hardy single on vinyl from Rough Trade and a cardigan”.

Frontman Nik Milan sustained a knee injury whilst on tour as support to Nirvana tribute band This Is Nirvana. The lead vocalist and guitarist has ruptured his knee ligaments, meaning he will require an operation to repair the damage, which will be followed by a lengthy rest period. Although the threesome are itching to get back on tour as soon as possible, it is unlikely that they will be out on stage again before the end of the year.

They are keeping busy in the meanwhile however. The Nirvana and Foo Fighters inspired group are busy writing new material, ready to debut on the live stage when they are fit and proper. Their debut album is available to listen to in it’s entirety on their website www.fromdayone.net and on iTunes. If you like your rock music with huge guitars and with a grunge soundbite to it, this is the band for you. Check out their track Keep Me Breathing below.