Corgan's Zwan Song

While Billy Corgan's work-hard, work-hard mentality may have been the force that ultimately smashed the Smashing Pumpkins, his serious approach to music produced artful, profound, post-grunge rock that formed a sonic backdrop to the 1990s. Well, the 90s are definitely over, and as the rock world tries to recover from the onslaught of pop in a music scene where the lines are more blurred than before, Corgan's Zwan may be the Smashing Pumpkins for a new generation.

Zwan's debut album, Mary Star of the Sea, seems to feature a more optimistic Corgan who renounces past suffering while seeking joy and embracing love with hope and resilience. However, there's a lot to be said for being fatalistic and tortured in one's lyrics. On Mary, fatalism has given way to a submission to faith and destiny, which, while expressed poetically, lacks the profound insights into the human condition that the Pumpkins provided. Instead, Corgan's ruminations occasionally seem trite.

But when the lyrics suffer, Zwan's powerful instrumentation revives the track. This is particularly true of the anthemic opening tracks that feature Pumpkins-esque swirling, percussion-heavy melodies whose harder edges are tempered by poppy hooks. Zwan's use of catchy beats and driving guitars also grounds more carefree tracks such as "El Sol" and the OK Go-esque "Baby, Let's Rock."

Nonetheless, as the album progresses, Corgan's combination of happiness and hard rock manages to produce complex, inventive compositions. The acoustic "Of a Broken Heart" expresses an acceptance of despair that remains bittersweet, further uniting polar opposites. Buried toward the end of the album, "Yeah!," is an ironically catchy take on heartbreak, expressing pain through sharp guitar licks and meticulous lyrics that make up for previous abuses. After these accomplishments, it's unfortunate that the end of the album degenerates - the religiously influenced, abstract title track, characteristic of Corgan's former group, and a bizarre folk rock song are uninspired.

While Zwan's music does feature sonic and lyrical vestiges of the Smashing Pumpkins, these traits merely enhance the group's poppy sound. Indeed, Zwan's debut CD illustrates the artistic ability of a formerly tortured front man.