Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan, now going by William Patrick Corgan (WPC), will soon be officially releasing his new solo album entitled Ogilala. The album, co-produced by Rick Rubin, is now available — ahead of its Oct. 13 premiere date — for streaming, courtesy of NPR. Listen here.
Featuring an abundance of acoustic guitar, piano and strings, Corgan’s latest marks a departure from the more distorted electronic sounds of his 2005 album TheFutureEmbrace. Ogilala consequently is made up of a selection of mellow, peaceful, mostly-optimistic compositions ripe for Pumpkins fans favoring the band’s softer, more melancholy sounds.
Upon first listen, highlights of the album include the opening tribute to the late David Bowie entitled “Zowie,” the album’s first two singles “Aeronaut” & the epic “The Spaniards,” and the reflective tune “Processional,” which features contributions by former Pumpkins’ guitarist James Iha. “It’s a long way, it’s a long way to get back home,” sings Corgan, on the lattermost.
WPC spoke on the production of Ogilala in a recent article with Pitchfork, in which he shared the following:
“For as long as I can remember the delineation point between songs I wrote for myself and songs I’d pen for whatever band was something I couldn’t explain. And it remains so, for they all feel quite personal to me, no matter their time or era. The lone difference on songs for Ogilala is that they seemed to want little in the way of adornment.
Having written the songs for voice and guitar, I put myself in Rick’s hands to take the music wherever he’d like. Normally I would have done more, and tinkered more on production, but rather Rick put the onus on me to deliver at a molecular level via live takes. The rest was simply a reaction.”
Corgan’s new album is slated for release on Oct. 13 via BMG. Visit Ogilala’s official website for pre-order information as well as tickets for forthcoming tour dates supporting the album.
Ogilala Tracklist:
01. Zowie
02. Processional
03. The Spaniards
04. Aeronaut
05. The Long Goodbye
06. Half-Life Of An Autodidact
07. Amarinthe
08. Antietam
09. Mandarynne
10. Shiloh
11. Archer