Six years after he dissolved it, Billy Corgan has once again revived The Smashing Pumpkins [ tickets ] brand--though only drummer Jimmy Chamberlin has returned to join him from the group's '90s heyday.

Most of the trademark pieces of the Pumpkins' sound are there: the overblown anthems, Corgan's angry Elmer Fudd vocals and layered, virtuoso guitar style, and Chamberlin's monster fills. Unfortunately, the songs aren't strong enough to carry the set.

What's lacking is the sense of dynamics that was core to the Pumpkins' most memorable work. Most of the tracks on "Zeitgeist" either hit you over the head with bombast, or lull you into indifference with meandering atmospherics that fail to tweak any emotional buttons.

Though Corgan makes an effort to bring his re-tooled Smashing Pumpkins into the current decade by trotting out some lyrics inspired by today's headlines, "Zeitgeist"--despite its title and for better or worse--still sounds like a product of the '90s. It's forgivable and probably unavoidable, though, given the unique sound Corgan forged during that decade.

Fans who were impressed by Corgan's solo album and his short-lived group Zwan won't be sorely disappointed, but old Pumpkins fans are likely to find only a couple of tidbits worth downloading: leadoff track "Doomsday Clock" and lead single "Tarantula," both of which are carried more by Chamberlin's crushing beats than Corgan's studio wizardry.