Not too long ago, I wrote something about The Smashing Pumpkins performing the song “Tarantula” live on Letterman, and I always felt that the Zeitgeist lineup was pretty damn solid. Zeitgeist is absolutely a comeback record and you definitely hear a refreshed and new energy from The Pumpkins. Now, what does this have to do with this review? Well the bass player for that lineup was Ginger Pooley and aside from being a great bass player has also released solo music as Ginger Sling. Anyway, I decided to put Ginger Sling on the Chopping Block. Let’s take a look…..
Room- the best way I can describe the sound of this EP is pop. I find that pop music can go either way. It can either be really good or just be outright terrible and I must say that this EP is the former. Now this was released in 2005 and you definitely hear the Smashing Pumpkins influence as well as other various influences such as The Beatles. Interestingly, the song “Faith” is about the death of Elliot Smith and how she felt the moment that happened. For being such a short EP there really is a lot of emotion packed in here and I definitely recommend giving this a listen. I’ll give this 9/10
Standouts: Meant To Be, Faith
Laguna Beach Demos- this is interesting because this and Room were both released on the same day yet when you stream it, it’s two separate EP’s. What you could do is time it so the last song on Room ends, and the first song on this begins. It actually flows quite nicely and as with things of this nature, makes for a very fun listening experience. The song “Out Of My Head” was written with a friend who (according to Ginger) was a little bit more than a friend and was finished when they parted ways. I’m gonna look at this as the back half of Room and give this 8.5/10
Standouts: We Are Young, Miracle
Ginger Sling- stylistically this one is a little different. It does keep the same pop sound that was on the other two EP’s however you have more styles. Again, this is only a 5 song EP with a lot going on. There’s pop as well as some venturing into atmospheric territory with a touch of ambient. It’s a really cool mix of different styles and this was put out after she had left Smashing Pumpkins which you can absolutely tell was an inspiration for this one. Definitely a fun listening experience and I’m going to give it 9/10.
Standouts: The Hard Road, Made To Sing
This is definitely the kind of artist where I’m hoping will put out new music, but I did enjoy these three EP’s. Fun fact, her music has appeared on various TV shows such as MTV’s Laguna Beach season 2, Pimp My Ride, Making The Band, as well as the 2005 movie Sky High. If you’re looking for something to sound exactly like Pumpkins then don’t bother but if you’re looking for something fun and relaxing then absolutely give these a listen.
Final Grade: A
Album Rankings:
- Ginger Sling
- Room
- Laguna Beach Demos
Sinister Reviews 