A few years back, indie rock granddaddies The Pixies, Camper Van Beethoven and Sebadoh reunited with varying degrees of success. Now that we are halfway through 2007, we’re hip-deep in a second round of reunions. Earlier this year, the long-standing feud between J. Mascis and Lou Barlow was set aside for a killer new Dinosaur Jr. album (followed by a lacklustre tour), and now record stores are bearing witness to three more second chances.
            A staple of college rock in the ’90s, Buffalo Tom never really broke up, but after lying dormant since 1998's Smitten, they might as well have. Known for their firm grasp on rootsy alt-pop, Buffalo Tom hit their peak in the early ’90s with three rock-solid albums in a row (Birdbrain, Let Me Come Over and Big Red Letter Day) and an appearance on My So Called Life. Three Easy Pieces (New West) finds the band in fine form. In a time where moody New York post rock and saccharine pop-punk are big sellers, Buffalo Tom haven't changed with the times. Bill Janovitz's vocals are refreshingly wry, and his guitars are both melodic and heart-breaking. The band veers through straight-up rockers with guiltless abandon and still has the power to bring the house down with some well-timed weepers. For a band that never had to put out another record, this Boston trio delivered the goods.
            One of the most surprising reunions in recent memory is that of infallible Aussie pop outfit Crowded House. Their last studio album was 1994's criminally underrated Together Alone, and founding drummer Paul Hester committed suicide in 2005, almost ensuring the death of the band. But Hester’s memorial tribute brought the remaining members back together, and what began as a new solo project for front man Neil Finn became Crowded House’s fifth studio album, Time on Earth (ATO Records). Given the circumstances under which Finn and bass player Nick Seymour reunited, it's no surprise that Time on Earth is darker than usual for this typically melancholy band. Enlisting the help of former session player Mark Hart and Beck drummer Matt Sherrod, the album has some brilliant pop moments ("Don't Stop Now"), but it also has overwrought, saccharine tear-jerkers. Still, it's hard to argue with Finn's strength as a lyricist or his airtight melodies.
            The biggest reunion album of the summer is also the most disappointing. After one of the most publicly awkward breakups in recent history, Smashing Pumpkins are back with Zeitgeist (Martha's Music/Reprise). It's important to note that founding bass player D'arcy Wretzky and guitarist James Iha are absent from the proceedings, leaving front man and egomaniac Billy Corgan to run wild, kept in line only by drummer Jimmy Chamberlain. Both men are notorious for indulgence (Chamberlain was once booted from the band for substance abuse) and Zeitgeist is the proof that when Corgan writes all the material, he still needs someone to keep him in check. On album opener and lead-off single "Doomsday Clock," Corgan sneers, "It's lonely at the top," which begs the question, how would he know? He hasn't been at the top of his game since 1995's double-album opus Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. That album inadvertently spawned legions of imitators whose nu-metal bullshit is now clogging radios. Sadly, this new album sounds more like the bands Corgan influenced than the band itself. With the thinnest production this side of Metallica's St. Anger, Zeitgeist sounds like a B-sides and rarities comp rather than a proper studio album. Expounding on the worst parts of Corgan and Chamberlain's separate solo albums, the album is 50-plus minutes of whiny vocals and hyper-indulgent drum solos that can't hide the fact that between the two of them they can't write a single decent song.
            With three such diverse reunion albums dropping at the same time, it’s easy to recall Jack Black’s music geek question du jour from High Fidelity. Is it fair to criticize a once great artist for their latter day sins? Sub-question: is it better to burn out or to fade away? Ultimately, these three bands show that there’s no clear-cut answer, but they’ll keep the debate (if not their careers) alive.