Zwan — Mary, Star of the Sea

What's this? A new super-group consisting of lumanaries from the long-since departed "grunge" scene? Well, since I consider the project between Chris Cornell and the remaining members of Rage Against the Machine to be rather atrocious, I guess something good had to come out of one of his musical contemporaries. Billy Corgan, after receding from the public eye and doing some very low-profile collaborations with New Order by lending his vocals to a track on their 2001 comeback album, Get Ready and working as a producer for various other bands, has re-emerged with a new project alongside long-time collaborator and original drummer for The Smashing Pumpkins, Jimmy Chamberlain -- also along for the ride are Paz Lenchantin (A Perfect Circle,) Matt Sweeney (Skunk, Chavez,) and David Pajo (Slint, Tortoise.) This new band is called Zwan (originally known as The True Poets of Zwan,) and the album is entitled Mary, Star of the Sea.

Seems as though Billy Corgan found the fame-and-fortune, glitz-and-glamour of his stint with The Smashing Pumpkins to be too overbearing, and decided to withdraw from the public eye and focus on projects that didn't draw time much attention to his creative and artistic vision. Loved or hated, he released one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the 90's with Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness -- a double album with 28 songs covering a myriad of styles. This let the world know that not only was Corgan a force to be reckoned with in the rock world, but also an extremely prolific song-writer. After some tumultuous and rather unstable lineup changes following the release of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, the band seemed to be tearing apart at the seams, and ended up disbanding in 2000. Billy Corgan laid low for a bit and then got together with a few friends and musical partners and formed Zwan.

Original drummer of The Smashing Pumpkins, Jimmy Chamberlain apparently kicked his heroin addiction and decided to make admends with his old band mate, Billy Corgan. Only good things could have come out of this because Jimmy Chamberlain is one of the most talented drummers in rock, and could single-handedly lay waste to many so-called "prodigious drummers" without breaking a sweat. Also, a legend in the post-rock/indie rock scene who will finally receive some more mainstream attention with Zwan is David Pajo of the legendary post-rock outfit, Slint. Matt Sweeney of Skunk and Chavez is another relatively unknown who will benefit from the exposure this outfit receives; it's probably also humbling that he's in a band with one of his influences, David Pajo. Last but not least is the inclusion of Paz Lenchantin, the beautiful bassist who is best known for her work with A Perfect Circle.

Now, onto the music. Zwan obviously has tendencies to sound a bit like The Smashing Pumpkins at times due to Corgan's uber-distinctive guitar style and vocal delivery, but with a 3-guitar arsenel, they've managed to create a more layered and textured sound instead of the rather straight-forward crunch of The Smashing Pumpkins -- this probably also has something to due with David Pajo's and Matt Sweeney's unique styles that tend to be very angular and unconventional. Once you get past the obvious nostalgia of The Smashing Pumpkins, you have an extremely well-thoughtout sound that uses faux-orchestration complementary of a bevy of guitars and a bass that underscores everything just perfectly and creates a wall-of-sound. The drumming is rather phenomenal, and it seems as though corgan has given Mr. Chamberlain more input as far as the drum performance goes. He just lets loose on this album, and as a result produces one of the most jaw-droppingly insane, fill-ridden, balls-to-the-wall performances of his career. His jazz-inspired background and training definitely shines through on this album. Jimmy Chamberlain's drumming is definitely one of, if not the highlight of this album. The vocals, while not being too far removed from what was displayed throughout The Smashing Pumpkins career, are consistent and get the job done. The nice background vocals complementary of each member of the band spice things up a bit.

The songs are relatively up-beat and cheery, and the overt-melodicism conveys the feeling of happiness and joy very well. This is an album that you could put on after a bad day and have it cheer you up almost instantly. The lyrics do tend to be a bit bitter and spiteful at times, but it's not your typical pre-fabricated angst-ridden "I hate you and I hate the world" garbage. Overall, the album maintains a constant flow of uplifting melody and positive lyrics. I actually welcome this kind of approach though. It's a delightful change from the constant self-imposed melancholy that's pervaded rock music recently.

Well, I'm extremely impressed. A debut album that already strikes me as a contender for the best album of 2003, and probably also one of the best debut albums period. Maybe it's because I always had a soft-spot for The Smashing Pumpkins, or because I think Billy Corgan is an extremely talented and prolific musician. Nah, this album really deserves all the praise I've dished out over the course of this review - regardless of any musician's past glories. And to believe this band was formed a little over 2 years ago. Extremely impressive. While not out yet (I managed to snag a promo at a local record store,) you can pre-order the album at amazon.com and receive it sometime around January 28th, which is the release date; or you can just go down to your local record store and pick up a copy on the release date. Highly, highly recommended for anyone who ever enjoyed The Smashing Pumpkins or is interested in hearing one of the best melodic rock records to have come out in recent years.