‘Cotillions,’ the New ‘Americana’ Album from Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan, is Definitely Not a Smashing Pumpkins Record (Listen)

On Friday, Smashing Pumpkins vocalist/guitarist/figurehead Billy Corgan released Cotillions, a new solo album under his full name, William Patrick Corgan. It’s a solo album with mellow, usually acoustic songs accentuated by pianos and other instruments every now and then.

It’s also 17 songs of “Americana” music that exists in an entirely different stratosphere from the Pumpkins’ universe, one allowing Corgan to really adventure out a bit into singer/songwriter territory. As it was detailed in a press release:

Seventeen Americana songs, written across the U.S. and recorded in Chicago and Nashville, with a few guest appearances by Katie Cole, Jeff Schroeder, and other notable Nashville session musicians.

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William Patrick Corgan presents COTILLIONS: Part 1. Now available on Facebook.com/BillyCorgan and YouTube.com/SmashingPumpkins. Cotillions available now. Pre-order for standard edition vinyl/CD/merch bundle through WPCcodex.com. #ThirtyDaysCotillions

A post shared by William Patrick Corgan (@wpccodex) on Nov 22, 2019 at 9:23am PST

Cotillions is the first release form Corgan since Smashing Pumpkins’ latest album, Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun., which was released in 2018 after the band’s inspired reunion tour.

Corgan has supported the release of the album with a solo acoustic tour that wrapped up earlier this week.

As all of this context might imply, Cotillions finds Corgan venturing out into new territory again — something he’s done throughout his career, especially during the Pumpkins’ down periods between activity.

Stream Cotillions below, via Spotify:

There are currently no upcoming tour dates listed on Corgan’s official site, but you never know — he tends to keep busy more than he doesn’t these days.