Just after the release of the Pumpkins' Aeroplane Flies High box set, I read an interview with Billy Corgan where he said the band would no longer be "rocking out like Sabbath." Then they released a couple of balls- out, full- energy chargers on soundtrack albums and I wrote Corgan's comment off entirely. But I was wrong. There's precious little rock-n-roll on Adore.

Composed almost entirely of Billy's Beautiful Ballads, Trademark Tragedies and Sweet, Sweet, Sweet, Sweet Little Agonies, Adore is by far the band's most lush effort thus far. The wonderful, acoustic "To Shiela" sets the tone for the record, with its distant drum echoes and poetic lyrics ("The sky's cruel torch/ On aching autobahn") which drift into the first single-- and the only remaining trace of the band's Sabbath days-- "Ava Adore." So far, it appears you've been readied for some kind of magical experience that could turn out to be one of the Pumpkins' best albums ever. Instead, you're flung headfirst into "Perfect," a dead ringer for the Icicle Works' "Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream)."

So, Adore has its fair share of unimpressive tracks, but never fails to hand out patience rewards like "Appels and Oranjes," which is this record's answer to 1979 (both the song and the year), the fully (keyboard) orchestrated "Tear" and the incredibly beautiful, eight- minute- long epic "For Martha," one of the Pumpkins' best tracks to date.

Adore marks the first time Corgan's produced his own band's record, albeit with occasional insight from Chicago indie- rock producer Brad Wood (best known for producing Liz Phair's Exile In Guyville) who co-produces six of the album's 16 tracks. Sadly, the result is overly- digital, a problem that's plagued the band since Mellon Collie. The recording process seems to have fried anything organic, ultimately leaving the record with a cold, tinny sound. A nice string section could have warmed things up considerably, but I guess we're stuck with computer simulations of the real thing.

The end result, though, is the Pumpkins' best offering since Siamese Dream (better even than the 2+ hours worth of songs from The Aeroplane Flies High, which I was convinced would be the band's last hurrah). And while it lacks that album's perfect production, angstful rock moments, and sentimental value, Adore is full of its own glory, which is more than any of us can ask for after "Bullet With Butterfly Wings."

-Ryan Schreiber