Billy Corgan..Powerpop.. Surely not? Was probably what most Pumpkins fans were thinking when it was announced that he had formed and new band in 2003 (3 years after the painfully bad demise of smashing pumpkins) with some of his buddies called "zwan". But bemusal aside we all wondered what the hell this would be like, Billy making even vaguely approachable music could see a return to his glory days of mixing sludgy guitars with pop tinted melodies ("Today" anyone?). Or it could just be another wanky ego trip (the whole of Machina anyone?)
After a first listen it becomes apparent that the two sides of Mr Corgan are very apparent in this latest outing, the stomping opener "Lyric" opens with with chiming REM-like guitars, followed by 3 minites of harmony touched pop gold, Bass player Paz Lenchantin's (also of - A Perfect Circle) voice compliments Corgans croon exceptionally. As the album unfolds more its very much of the same, the first half of the album gallops along with melody after melody, peaking with the near perfection "Honestly", which is probably the best thing Billy Corgan has ever done. Sweeping chorus's dominate the opening tracks, backed by a tight and solid pack of very well produced guitars, that sound accessible and dont swamp the listener (Very unlike Pumpkins) but still "rock", the riffs are huge, the solo's killer, you still get the wall of sound, but its in moderation (unlike early SP were some tracks were rumoured to have over 100 tracks of guitar on at once!)
Lyricly the album is full of religious refernces and themes of redemption, love and rescue, Corgan himself is credited on the album as "Billy Burke" referencing the Floridian evangelist who has i quote "dedicated his life to touching the world with God's power". The influence is hardly "Christian Rock" but it creates a very ereatheral and personal record. The lyrics open up and are inviting, becoming semi-hypnotic as you listen more, somthing which as always absent from any of his previous work, the listener does not feel alienated or scared off.
But as the album progresses the Dark side of corgan becomes present, on first listen it can be hard to distinguish the tracks from each other, (bittersweet acoustic number "Of a Broken Heart" being really the only punctuation in an hour of mid-tempo powerpop) and after a while a feeling of monotony sets in, the album is easilly 25 minits too long, most of which are hogged by the largely pointless title track (clocking in at 14.04) There is an unnerving feeling that perhaps the other members had spoken up a little and tried to contain some of BC's ambition this would have made a better record. Most of the tracks are credited to all the members, but there is a feeling that once again Corgans controlling sense has taken over with his music (its also rumoured that for the second Pumpkins album "siamese dream" Billy played every instrument on the album) A claim which was backed up by the fact that Zwan eventually imploded months after the release of "Mary". Its a shame an album with so much potential leaves such a sour feeling, but being an avid fan of Corgans other work i have almost come to expect that feeling. Remember kids endless ambition is not always a good thing.
Essential tracks - Lyric, Settle Down, Honestly, Of a Broken Heart
Like Zwan? Check out
Nada Surf - Lucky *****
Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream *****
Red Hot Chilli Peppers - By the Way *****
Ash - Intergalactic Sonic 7's The Singles *****
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