After weeks of heavy buzz, Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan, pardon me, William Patrick Corgan, has finally released his latest solo album in the world. Titled Ogilala, the new record is sparsely-layered work, created with heavy input from producing legend Rick Rubin.
In order to give the record the appropriate promotional push, on Thursday evening, Corgan logged an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where he aired out one of Ogilala‘s standout tracks, a song titled “Aeronaut.” Right from the jump, you can tell how different this project is from his work with the Pumpkins, or even Zwan. Corgan remains seated for the entire performance behind an elegant, grand piano, while a string-quartet softly accompanies him just at the back of the stage.
In a recent interview with Spin, Corgan was optimistic about the way Ogilala has been received –“It’s probably the most positive response I’ve gotten in twenty years on a record” — before offering a word of warning to all those clamoring for a Smashing Pumpkins reunion. “Be careful what you wish for,” he said. “Because if we do come back in any format, we’re going to punch people’s heads in…People, rightly so, will often attach a lot of the whole group’s polemic mission to me. Fine, I was out front, I was writing the songs. But trust me, the other three were just as big of bastards.”
You can watch Corgan’s performance of “Aeronaut” in the video above.
