Billy Corgan – The Future Embrace
(Warner Bros)

Former Smashing Pumpkins singer/songwriter Billy Corgan didn’t really give me any reasons to look look forward to this album. I’d be burned last time by my overexcitement for Zwan’s disappointing “Mary Star of the Sea” and wasn’t going to get fooled again soquickly. It didn’t surprise me when I saw the albumcover art. It looks pretentious, overly arty, to thepoint of cheesiness. Basically, an honest portrait of where Billy Corgan is in 2005.

“The Future Embrace”, his first solo work (though that’s debatable considering the nature of his relationship with the other Pumpkins), is a shoegaze/electro-pop record. And a synth nightmare. I have no problem with synths whatsoever. I do have a problem when they, and any other instrument, are clumsily and poorly used to create atmosphere.

I am used to Corgan’s pretentious shenanigans. At one time I considered them a virtue, back when they were wrapped up in angst, provided us worthy rock star one-liners, or were a bombastic set up to a killer solo or bridge. Even on “Adore”, the Pumpkins most underrated record, while his pretentiousness killed any real edge he was going for, it was the driving force behind the experimentation that made that record so unique. Only someone with his kind of ego could go and take the risk of creating such a different record at the height of the bands’ popularity.

“The Future Embrace”, simply by being quiet and having drum machine-ish beats, most closely resembles “Adore”, however the songwriting isn’t really there. You can be a big ghastly bald Powder dude if you bring the tunes, but more often that not, Corgan falls flat with this effort.

There are some good moments. “All Things Change” is a promising opener, oddly catchy, and acting as a kind of message to the fans of his short lived decision to move on without a band. “The Camera Eye”, “Walking Shade” and especially “DIA” are stronger tracks, however they are interspersed throughout the disc, giving us no real stretch of top level Corgan material.

The problem as I mentioned before, really is the subtle atmospherics I didn’t truly notice until listening on headphones. The production on this album is just a little overboard, the astmospherics bring Corgans pretentiousness to a higher, more noticeable level, and actually serve as filler. Instead perhaps Corgan should have taken a cue from Stephen Malkmus and tried to brings some bleeps and bloops into his solo album… but then again, Corgan is so keen on teaching us about life, love and God that it’s a bit of a sin that he actually be interesting or creative.

Basically, its too New Age, the lyrics aren’t very good, and there are 2 particular tracks that are embarrassing enough that they are deservedly pushing people to give this album a review below 50% of whatever their grade system is. The first is “I’m Ready”. With Corgan’s high nasal voice, and with the repetition of “I’m ready ready” throughout the song, it sounds like Corgan is giving a tribute to SpongeBobSquarePants’ catchphrase. The more discussed trackpeople are crapping all over is his cover of the Bee Gee’s “To Love Somebody”. Is it as bad as people say? No, but its definitely not good. It’s off-putting. First off, I don’t think anyone has the Michael Bolton version out of their mind yet. Secondly, the combination of Corgans voice with guest Robert Smith at points actually sounds like Marilyn Manson. Thirdly, that song is and was always cheese, and Corgan’s attempt to pull it into a higher level doesn’t work at all. If this was a b-side or meant to be ironic, I think people would have been a little more accepting.

Despite my distaste for this CD, I’m going to resistfrom calling Corgan “creatively dead”. This pastweek he expressed an interest in reforming the Smashing Pumpkins. While I don’t have faith he can convince James Iha and D’arcy Wretzky to come back, I do think that his God shtick would be better off in a rock and roll environment, or at least one where Jimmy Chamberlain is allowed to show off a little more. Billy’s guest track on Jimmy’s recent solo album is certainly proof of that. — Goon

SCORE: