Billy Corgan has revealed that Smashing Pumpkins have completed work on their new material – hailing it as “one of his favourite experiences” of working with the band.

Corgan’s band recently reunited most of its original line-up, with guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin joining Corgan and long-term collaborator Jeff Schroeder. Original bassist D’Arcy Wretsky is not involved however, with a bitter feud unfolding between Wretsky and Corgan.

Following reports that they had 26 songs to work with, Corgan has now taken to Instagram to tease two new four-track EPs. The eight tracks will be titled ‘Solara’, ‘Marchin’ On’, ‘Travels’, ‘Seek and You Shall Destroy’, ‘With Sympathy’, ‘Knights of Malta’, ‘Silvery Sometimes (Ghosts)’ and ‘Alienation’.


“Almost all the musical side is done with two days to go, leaving background vocals and last minute touches/flourishes/drang,” Corgan wrote in his update to fans.

“The intended plan being to release the songs over two, four song E.P.’s, with a first song most likely due out in May.”

Corgan also teased a “long-ranging interview” with The New York Times, which will “address many of the things we get asked about here”.

Corgan later added that “recording is now finished for the upcoming ‘Shiny and Oh So Bright’ EPs one and two”.

“[Recording sessions] ended last night with a truly epic sing on ‘Knights of Malta’ with three unbelievably talented women,” wrote Corgan on Instagram. “[It was] probably one of my favourite experiences ever recording with Smashing Pumpkins, right up there with the strings on ‘Tonight’.


“So yes, it’s *all* save for the mixing and mastering. Thank you to everyone who has been so sweet and supportive. We hope to make you proud.”

Ex-Smashing Pumpkins bassist D’Arcy Wretsky has said that Billy Corgan “can’t sing for shit”.

“Billy used to complain a lot to me and James, because he thought he was so ugly, and he thought we had such great lives,” Wretsky recently said. “He’d be like, ‘You two are better looking than 90% of the rest of the people on the planet! You have this, and you have that! My life is miserable! Blah blah blah!’ Over and over, and over again! He thinks he’s ugly, so he surrounds himself with beautiful people.”

“He can’t sing for shit, and he knows it, so he makes sure that everybody else in the band is going to play perfectly to make up for it. It doesn’t matter if his singing is terrible, but if you play a fucking wrong note or anything, there is hell to pay. That’s some big time insecurity.”

Wretsky added that behind closed doors, Corgan “fucking hates the fans”.

“He really loves to humiliate people at shows and stuff with the audience,” she continued. “He told me that he actually believed that the audience wanted to be like, the way he always used to scream and bitch at the audience and stuff, he told me he really thought people wanted that. I was like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ He’s like, ‘No, really, I did?’ Why would anybody want to be humiliated in front of thousands or hundreds of people in public, and have their idol diss them? Why would anyone want that?”

Release details and further world tour dates are expected to be announced shortly.