The various incarnations of the Smashing Pumpkins over the years illustrate just how many people Billy Corgan, the band's frontman, has fallen out with. Bitter infighting seems to be a hallmark of this group.

Only two of the original line-up are on board for this audacious comeback - Corgan and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. Corgan fired Chamberlin nearly a decade ago after a heroin binge which led to the death of keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin. Many regard this as the moment when the band's output took a downward turn in quality, and the pair's subsequent reunion says much about the rare alchemy they have together musically.

Indeed, Zeitgeist survives the absence of other key members James Iha and D'arcy Wretzky, although for fans who date back to the band's early glories such as Gish and Siamese Dream, this may not be enough to get them excited.

Yet there is plenty of sonic variety. God and Country smoulders beneath a blur of electronica while the cheery (Come On) Let's Go is the sound of a strident pop sensibility strutting its stuff. Tarantula, produced by former Queen collaborator Roy Thomas Baker, is an example of the band's enhanced musicianship with an edge of camp fused to the razor sharp guitars.

New recruit Jeff Schroeder's guitars seethe against Chamberlin's furious drumming, particularly on the magnificent Doomsday Clock, which bursts with the energy that characterised the Pumpkins earlier songs. Corgan's eerie whine floats above the mix, not so much singing to the listener as stalking them.