It was generally acknowledged that
Billy Corgan wasn't just the heart of
Smashing Pumpkins, he was their architect, their musical director, and dictator, responsible for every sonic detail of their records and sometimes creating it all on his own. So, when he ended the band in 2000, it seemed a little baffling because he could have carried on with the group forever, since it was his band, and he was responsible for not just their densely layered sound, but also for how
the Pumpkins painted themselves into a dark, murky corner with their final album,
MACHINA. Remarkably, by breaking up the band,
Corgan revitalized himself with
Zwan, a supergroup conglomerate that functions more like a band than
Smashing Pumpkins, as their superb debut,
Mary Star of the Sea, illustrates. Usually, a supergroup winds up as a lumbering, ad-hoc creation that never sounds as good as it reads on paper, but
Zwan clicks, partially because
Corgan lets his bandmates function as equal partners. As well they should -- by cherry-picking guitarist
David Pajo from
Slint, guitarist
Matt Sweeney from
Chavez, and bassist
Paz Lenchantin from
A Perfect Circle, while retaining
Pumpkins drummer
Jimmy Chamberlin, he's assembled a nimble, muscular, adventurous group who don't flash their virtuosity, but can take his musical ideas further than his past group. And, yes,
Zwan does recall
Smashing Pumpkins, primarily because
Corgan's voice and his favored method of layering guitars is so distinctive, but he has never sounded this bright, colorful, or free; he has never sounded like he's having so much fun making music. This joyful spirit surges throughout
Mary Star of the Sea, even during its many intricate instrumental sections, and it's hard not to get swept up in the momentum, especially since it's married to his best set of songs since
Siamese Dream. More than any album since that, it suggests the expansiveness of
Corgan's musical vision (
Mellon Collie sometimes sagged in its messiness), but there's a generosity here never heard in
the Pumpkins, something that comes both from
Corgan's writing and his interaction with his new band, which makes
Mary Star of the Sea a delight to hear. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
![This is Our Music [This is Our Music & Copenhagen]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0600197101025_p0_v2_s90x140.jpg "This is Our Music [This is Our Music & Copenhagen]")
