This time, though, they’re underpinned by a dense thicket of guitars that occasionally, fantastically, suggest all Pajo’s old mates and a couple of Corgan’s were deconstructing their stereotypes in the studio down the corridor. The tunes draw on the kind of cruising FM rock classics Corgan sourced for ‘Today’ and ‘1979’. ‘Honestly’ and ‘Declarations Of Faith’ are bounding, near-giddy love songs, while ‘Endless Summer’ and ‘Baby Let’s Rock!’ (a virtual homage to glam dinosaurs Mott The Hoople) are as ecstatically cheesy as the titles suggest. Where once he sounded tortured, occasionally garotted, now Corgan is practically jolly, even sweet. There’s precious little whingeing, either. Sure, ‘Mary Star Of The Sea’ is founded in big old-fashioned rock, but much of the pomp has been trimmed away to expose Corgan at his sunniest and most pop-friendly. But his garlanded collaborators have clearly had some positive effects. These are blatantly Corgan’s songs, and to prove it he announces, “Whatever I can do, I will, ‘cos I’m good like that,” as early as the second song, ‘Settle Down’. Stories of Zwan being a democratic creative unit are, predictably, disingenuous. It’s also, though, very good, by some distance the best record this gifted miscreant has made since 1993’s ‘Siamese Dream’. ‘Mary Star Of The Sea’ is grandiose, anthemic and rarely troubled by either subtlety or overt experimentation. So has Corgan abandoned stadium bombast for the humble allure of lo-fi? Well, of course not. Joining Corgan and Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, then, are Paz Lenchantin, bassist in A Perfect Circle and a Queens Of The Stone Age associate guitarist Matt Sweeney, once of post-hardcore types Chavez, more recently a sideman for Bonnie Prince Billy and Catpower and, intriguingly, the patron saint of post-rock David Pajo, who’s figured in Slint, Tortoise and Royal Trux as well as his own fine Papa M. Now he’s formed Zwan with an impressive selection of musicians mostly removed from the industrial metal world he so recently inhabited. For a start, he’s toured as back-up guitarist for New Order in a gesture of unexpected fanboy humility.

The Pumpkins‘ farewell tour scrolled on interminably, but when it was over, the suspicion was that Corgan would never trouble sane listeners again.Ī couple of years on, though, Corgan has done some usefully weird things. Presiding over the last rites of The Smashing Pumpkins, he styled himself as a goth-metal high priest who’d sacrificed his talent in favour of pretension. The last time he was round these parts Billy Corgan looked, to be honest, a bit of a lost cause.

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