“Mellon Collie” was so good we were hoping “Adore” would be a sort of Disc 3 continuation that keeps the party going. What he delivered instead was something much darker and radically different.

Those electronic textures were jarring on first listen, and destined to divide people. But by the end of the record its depth of emotion and complexity of the compositions, pull you in completely. You stop comparing it to anything you’ve ever heard, by anyone, and understand it as something unique and beautiful.

My reaction after a couple songs was “wtf is this electronic shit Billy!” but after the last song went silent I was staring into space blown away. I read some of the lyrics back to myself, starting with “Blank Page”.

Adore is brilliantly sequenced with songs blending into each other, and lyrically is a masterpiece on its own. If you were a teen for “Siamese Dream” and “Gish”, it felt like the Smashing Pumpkins was maturing and evolving along with us entering adulthood.

It’s an impressive piece of art, pun intended a “Perfect” 10/10 record representing the best of the era, that holds up well and is no less potent today.