In the wake of the Smashing Pumpkins breakup, everybody assumed that egocentric frontman Billy Corgan would go the way of Morrisey and desparately cling to what he had before. And, while his 2005 album would eventually prove them right, he did manage to squeeze out Zwan in the interval. There are a few things one must do before listening to Zwan:
1.Ensure that they are happy
2.Forget momentarily that the pumpkins ever existed
What will one find underneath the brightly-coloured rock'n'roll cover of Zwan's debut, Mary Star Of The Sea? well, for a start, the boiler room of the Smashing Pumpkins in prime shape with Corgan's songwriting talents always paired with Jimmy Chamberlins precise and fresh drum lines. Then, you'll find a few familiar faces (Dave Pajo form alt-rock miniheroes Slint, A Perfect Circle Paz Lenchatian, and Bonnie "Prince" Billy collaborator Matt Sweeney). But at the heart of it, in Zwan you'll find a healthy amount of rock'n'roll, a solid album, and just a whole lot of warmth.
Corgan's usually introspective lyrics have been transformed from gloomy self-pity into brave confidence and a sense of comfort ("cause i'm a star, and i will shine" declares corgan in "Lyric"). He even La-Dee-Da's on occasion. Corgan has also made another unexpected move here in allowing bassist Lenchantian to supply backing vocals, where on-record with the pumpkins he would record up to 3 supporting harmonies of himself. It's obvious we're dealing with a different band altogether here.
Notably, too, is that Jimmy Chamberlins technical efforts have gone up considerably. His normally brilliant drum parts are not only considerably more technical but more dynamically related to the music, fitting in perfectly to the sweet harmonies corgan has forged here between a 3-guitar troupe that work between each other brilliantly.
The song styles are many, but most common are the big-warm-smile tracks such as "Lyric", complete with pounding chorus and chanted vocal, the dynamically superb "Declarations Of Faith", and first single "Honestly". Other tracks take on a different mood, with "Of A Broken Heart" being a blueprint of the acoustically-led ballad for which Corgan is so well known, now complete with Zwan feel.
There are a few overly cheesy track on 'Mary'. The tremolo-cast keyboard line on "Baby, Lets Rock" is enough to upset the most enthusiastic corgan worshipper, and "El Sol" is almost bordering on saccharine with its prozac-happy melodies.
The happy factor is worked up well on the later half of the album, with "Ride A Black Swan" and "Endless Summer" being botomless carpe-diem anthems, rollicking without a care in the world.
And then, of course, Corgan throws his trademark grandiosity into the ring. "Jesus I/Mary Star Of The Sea" stands at 14:04, and starts with a traditional hymn, before building into a swelling guitar jam that slowly and surely dies away with all the determination of a man out to prove himself to the world. But, oddly, all is forgiven, as "Come With Me" closes the album on a note that is simply lovable.
Ultimately, 'Mary' is a worthy addition to the discography of one of the most important and unique songwriters of our generation, even if it is just a stop-gap solution until the pumpkins reunion. A great rainy day album, full of a warmth you have to choose to let in.
4 stars.
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