Smashing Pumpkins: 11 Essential Tracks All Fans Should Listen To

There was a transitional period for the Pumpkins between Gish and Siamese Dreams with their underrated song Drown bridging both worlds. Made shortly after Gish, Drown was the midpoint song indicating the direction the Pumpkins were venturing towards. Compared to songs like Hello Kitty Kat, Snail, and Rhinoceros, there's a cohesiveness to Drown in its structure while still having the lavish solos of the former.

Rather than orienting the song towards a solo as the centerpiece and big climax, the solo work in Drown fits thematically as a whole piece than as a focal point. Even when the extended version's second half consists of noise guitar, it supplemented than detracted from the song. This is an element the band would perfect in Siamese Dreams. Even with the experimental noise solo that feels something similar to a Sonic Youth song, at this point the band was adopting a more traditional pop structure while maintaining the same intensity of Gish.

Drown is a special song on their roster that captures the feeling and listlessness of the 90s with its fuzzed guitars serenading gently against a wall of noise. Just as it sonically showed the direction of the band, the lyrics indicated Corgan balancing Gish's self-indulgent psychedelic imagery with something focused and sincere.