Billy Corgan's Newly Released Album, Cotillions, Backstory and Review

The much anticipated album Cotillions was released today, November 22, by William Patrick Corgan, famously known as Billy Corgan, the frontman of The Smashing Pumpkins.

Still reminiscing in The Smashing Pumpkins sound, Corgan puts a twist into his unique album with some influences of country, blues, and “Americana.” After waiting twelve years since his last solo album, he was able to develop his new sound, with major help from his thirty day road trip across middle America.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjLlhIvSoLY

Through this trip, he visited multiple small towns, only traveling on side roads, to get the full experience of being outside of the typical Los Angeles scene. His first stop was Hopkinsville, Kansas, where his Grandma Lillian lived and died and the age of a hundred and two. Corgan has opened up about his troubling family, but he always seemed to stay close with his grandma. “She was a big part of my life - a big influence on me where it came to reading and the arts,” he stated in his self-produced video of his journey.

His next stop was Nashville, Tennessee, where he recorded some of Cotillions at RCA Studio A. Corgan specifically chose that location because “something about the place makes the music seem better,” and a large amount of his influences recorded at that very studio. After Nashville, he and his camera crew drove through many different states and towns for small shows, photography for the album, and gathering more influences from his surroundings.

The introductory song from the seventeen-track album, “To Scatter One’s Own”, starts with his calming acoustic guitar and well-written lyrics, with the well recognized voice of The Smashing Pumpkins. Though the sound is different than what his usual fans are used to, the lyrics still have a little taste of the way Corgan always writes.

Emerging into more of a country sound, “Jubilee” perceives it well with dance-worthy violin, intense strumming of an acoustic guitar, and hints of country-inspired guitar riffs. Corgan felt like he was connecting back to his roots of his family history with this new style he is exploring with such passion and intent.

“Cotillions”, being the first melancholy song on the album, starts off with hearing the instant pain Corgan so gracefully writes, carried with such sorrowful piano. The song is talking about where Corgan feels most at home (which ever-so-happens to be where he traveled for the album), and where he knows he doesn’t belong.

Jeff Schroeder (guitarist from Smashing Pumpkins) and touring member Katie Cole are both featured on the album, though Corgan didn’t specify which songs they contributed to. He also stated that there are “other notable Nashville session musicians” who joined him on Cotillions.

“6+7” starts off much different than the rest of the album, with a recording of a thunderstorm, that lead to a rock-style guitar riff and simple piano. This song is good way to emerge into Corgan’s solo work after listening to Smashing Pumpkins. It beautifully mixes the old and new sound that he carries with him.

“Anon” concludes the album so perfectly, with a calm but happy feel to it. The lyrics regard broken love and his unwillingness to fight, but the instrumental aspect of the song brings it a little more cheer to finish it off.

Corgan just ended a small tour in America for his, at the time, unreleased album:

November 4-6, Los Angeles CA

November 9, Nashville TN

November 10, Tulsa OK

November 12, Lawrence KS

November 13, Springfield MO

November 15, Covington KY

November 16, Stroudsburg, PA

November 18-20, New York NY