Zwan

[DvChWi]

I heard one of their songs(not sure which one), and it was pretty good.  It seems like everyone has the Smashing Pumpkins on their top album list, so it sounds like Billy Corgan has got something going for him.  Is their album any good?   Should I add it to my wish list as my first hard rock record(is it hard rock even, though?).  Let me know.

[Escuchame]

This is not a hard rock record!

It's sweet, resonating happy rock!  One of my top 10 albums of the year.

Read review here:

www.therebelbase.net/zwan.html

Peace out,
Andree

[DvChWi]

Oh, cool, thanks.  Someone said it was hard rock, but some people are so used to easy listening a distorted guitar will make a song "hard rock."  Sounds good, though.

[bloop]

They currently sit at #7 on my top 10 list, which is a very respectable place to be.  My list, as of right now:

1.  Radiohead - Hail to the Thief
2.  Spiritualized - Amazing Grace
3.  Blur - Think Tank
4.  The White Stripes - Elephant
5.  Derek Webb - She Must and Shall Go Free
6.  Fountains of Wayne - Welcome Interstate Managers
7.  Zwan - Mary, Star of the Seathe
8.  The Mars Volta - De-Loused in the Comatorium
9.  Switchfoot - The Beautiful Letdown
10. Wilco - Australian EP

[Josh]

I wasn't nearly as impressed with Zwan's album as bloop and Andree seem to be, but it's decent. Billy Corgan is a truely obnoxious vocalist (he grates on my nerves even more than Dylan does), and the songwriting is merely adequate, but there's some fantastic guitar work and whatnot, and "Jesus I" is an exhilirating, epic song.

My list so far, by the way, goes:

1. Derek Webb- She Must and Shall Go Free
2. Radiohead- Hail to the Thief
3. Daniel Lanois- Shine
4. Switchfoot- The Beautiful Letdown
5. Steven Delopoulos- Me Died Blue

This list will probably be totally different once I hear the new OtR, Innocence Mission, Jars of Clay, etc.

[Guest]

Corgan's voice = #1 reason people can't get into his bands.  I rather like it...it's distinctive.  If you hadn't mentioned Dylan in there, Josh, I'd have to remind you that he's not exactly a stellar vocalist either, conventionally speaking.

I agree with you about the songwriting, overall (with notable exceptions), which is why it isn't higher on my list.  If the entire album was as good as track 14, well, it would probably be #1.

btw, if you haven't checked out Spiritualized, you might really want to.  NME calls it garage rock, but I don't think it's so easy to pigeonhole.  Listen to it sometime.  The Mars Volta might move up on repeated listens as it's very strong, too.  I still want to check out quite a bit that came out including Cat Power and Xiu Xiu.

[Josh]

Corgan's voice = #1 reason people can't get into his bands. I rather like it...it's distinctive. If you hadn't mentioned Dylan in there, Josh, I'd have to remind you that he's not exactly a stellar vocalist either, conventionally speaking.

Yeah, fair enough. Dylan and Corgan are both poor singers. Corgan annoys me. Dylan doesn't. It's totally personal preference, really.  

[JupiterCrash17]

yeah zwan is allright...nothing compared to sp though, which is good in some ways I suppose.  zwan is more positive and upbeat as far as their lyrics and messages go than sp. and yes, corgan is a pretentious perfectionist when it comes to music, and although i am a fan of his work, it would be nice if allowed the other bandmembers to have more artistic freedom.

[bloop]

Well, I think part of that with the Pumpkins was because he was the clear best songwriter in the group.  Iha tended toward sappy love ballads, and a couple of them are pretty good too, but let's not go crazy.  "Soma" is better than anything Iha has going.

With the new band, however, I could understand someone saying that more input should be had from each member.  Pajo is an equal with Corgan in the underground, some even say he's better, but Corgan's style of guitar-playing is much more evident than his on the record.  I hear more of Sweeny's band, Chavez's sound than Pajo's, which is a shame if you've heard "Spiderland".  I'm still very much looking forward to the Djali Zwan album (supposed to be, more or less, acoustic).

[JupiterCrash17]