Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1: No Past. No Future. No Sun
by The Smashing Pumpkins
User Score
6.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 62 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 37 out of 62
  2. Mixed: 16 out of 62
  3. Negative: 9 out of 62
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  1. Duke_Challenger
    Nov 16, 2018
    2
    This is by far the Smashing Pumpkins' worst album. There is no knockout song on here. Every song is trying to sound either like a mainstream pop band or a previous Smashing Pumpkins song. Billy should go back to working random musicians.

    Best song: With Sympathy (7/10)
  2. lastfox
    Mar 10, 2021
    2
    Unfortunately this album is one of those mediocre efforts to sound fresh. I think Monuments was a much better try if the goal was to sound relevant. I'm not going to pretend I was a life-long SP fan, as if it means something. The band slowly faded from my radar around Adore. So I wouldn't say I have an attachment or expectations on a SP record (thankfully there are many brilliant bandsUnfortunately this album is one of those mediocre efforts to sound fresh. I think Monuments was a much better try if the goal was to sound relevant. I'm not going to pretend I was a life-long SP fan, as if it means something. The band slowly faded from my radar around Adore. So I wouldn't say I have an attachment or expectations on a SP record (thankfully there are many brilliant bands out there).
    Monuments was the first Pumpkins record I picked up in decades. Rather pale when compared with the former energy of the old records, but still some solid songs in there that I like to this day. Now fast-forward to this record. And honestly if this would have been churned out by a newcomer band on Bandcamp, I wouldn't even be bothered to give it a second spin. So I give this record the benefit of a doubt, maybe it's a 'grower'. After my fifth try I gave up. I'm not a professional musician so I can't get into the technical specifics what went wrong here. Production-wise it sounds okay to me, although no song has an oomph to it, really. I welcome and respect bands that go out and try something that is outside their comfort zone. But you better be really really hungry to do it, this sounds more like, "there was nowhere else for us to go, so we did that". And at the same time they have a song like Silvery Sometimes that tries so desperately to be an ode to the old-times that it underlines even more the aimless direction of this album. Silvery Sometimes and the rest of the album feel kind of unfinished, like there was a long way to go for these songs to be worthy to be put on an album.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

91
#91 Most Discussed Album of 2018

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
65

Generally favorable reviews - based on 23 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 23
  3. Negative: 1 out of 23
  1. The Skinny
    Dec 19, 2018
    60
    Overall, Shiny And Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun. is a pleasantly nostalgic, brief album--half of which is sensational and the other is painstakingly poor.
    Read full review
  2. Under The Radar
    Nov 30, 2018
    70
    All in all, it's a welcome return and one that suggests The Smashing Pumpkins' business is far from finished.
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  3. Sputnikmusic
    Nov 26, 2018
    74
    The album endears itself with a simpler style and digestible runtime provided the ridiculous 60s synths and wee-ooh vocals don't immediately turn you off. It clearly will not go down in anyone's book as a classic release, but for a change it's a Pumpkins album that's aware of that fact, cleverly baking that unassuming simplicity into every note and half-nonsense lyric.
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