Shiny and Oh So Bright - Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun.

'Shiny and Oh So Bright - Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun.' (stylized in all caps ) is the tenth studio album by The Smashing Pumpkins. The album was released on November 16, 2018 through Napalm Records. Produced by Rick Rubin, it is the band's first album to feature founding members James Iha and Jimmy Chamberlin since Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music (2000) and Zeitgeist (2007), respectively.

Initially planned as two four-song EPs, the release was preceded by the singles "Solara", "Silvery Sometimes (Ghosts)", and "Knights of Malta", and reached number fifty-four on the US Billboard 200 chart.

Background and recording
In early February 2018, it was announced that original members Jimmy Chamberlin and James Iha had rejoined the band. The reunited line-up, alongside longtime guitarist Jeff Schroeder, started production on new material in February 2018 with Rick Rubin producing, the first time he had worked with the band since the Adore album cycle. Recording took place at Shangri La recording studio, Malibu, California. The group originally presented eight song demos to Rubin with the intention of releasing one as a comeback single. After Rubin approved of all eight, the group planned two four-song EPs, the first of which was originally scheduled to be released in May 2018. In September 2018 it was announced that the EPs would take the form of a full-length album, the first and last in the Shiny and Oh So Bright album series.

In early 2020, while recording the band's follow-up album, CYR, Corgan retroactively dismissed Shiny and Oh So Bright's status as a full studio album: "When we got back together with James, we went in with Rick Rubin and did eight songs. It was put out as a formal album, but I said at the time — and I did mean it — in my eyes, it wasn’t an album. We didn’t approach it like we’ve approached every other album we’d ever done, which is more like making a movie."

Release and promotion
The album's first single, "Solara", was released on June 8, 2018. The song was then played as the only post-2000 song in the encore during the Shiny and Oh So Bright tour, with exception of the final two dates where it was replaced with the second single, "Silvery Sometimes (Ghosts)". The single was released on September 13, 2018. The opening track "Knights of Malta" was secretly released as a private YouTube video on November 7, 2018.

The lead single "Solara" was performed live on national television on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Monday, June 11, 2018. The full album was released on November 16, which is also Corgan's son's birthday.

Reception
The album received generally positive reviews.

Consequence of Sound gave the album a B and named it album of the week. AllMusic claimed "Corgan delivers something unexpected: music that's rich but settled, music that plays to his strengths, music where he seems happy in his own skin." NME remarked "The heavier moments refuse to act as a sledegehammer of alt-rock pastiche, which this record could so easily have been. Instead, it’s a showcase of songcraft that’s allowed to breathe and reveal itself. Bring on volume two. The dream lives on." Spin Magazine noted "All signs pointed to Shiny and Oh So Bright ... as an authoritative step back on track."

The Smashing Pumpkins

 * Billy Corgan – vocals, guitar, bass guitar, keyboards
 * James Iha – guitar, bass guitar
 * Jeff Schroeder – guitar
 * Jimmy Chamberlin – drums

Additional musicians

 * The Section Quartet – strings on "Knights of Malta" and "Alienation"
 * Daphne Chen – violin
 * Richard Dodd – cello
 * Eric Forman – violin
 * Leah Katz – viola
 * Charissa Nielsen, Briana Lee, Missi Hale – additional background vocals on "Knights of Malta"

Production

 * Rick Rubin – production
 * Dana Nielsen – recording, mixing
 * Jason Lader – additional recordings, strings recording
 * Davis Spreng – additional recordings
 * Vlado Meller – mastering