In the hazy aftermath of 1995’s Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness—The Smashing Pumpkins’ bestselling, era-defining magnum opus once dubbed “The Wall for Gen X”—public expectations for the group either to replicate or surpass its now-fabled maximalist masterpiece were high. For the Pumpkins, such expectations would prove challenging to meet, as Mellon Collie had been a tremendous commercial and critical success for the influential Chicago-based alt rock idols.