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Somewhere deep inside, Billy Corgan must have a killer space-age blues record just waiting to be hatched. "Strayz," the final cut from Corgan's uneven, occasionally inspired solo debut, The Future Embrace, is a haunting and beautiful track that uses an off-time, whispered vocal hovering above upright bass and minimalist keys to offer a glimpse inside the bald dome responsible for the cultural phenomenon that was Smashing Pumpkins. There's nothing else like it on the otherwise electro-noise-rock album that designates it as either the perfect closing statement or a sliver of light in an otherwise cloying, claustrophobic set.
Seldom has the "mixed bag" review cliché been more appropriate; The Future Embrace has some genuinely pretty songs, while others are downright dreadful. The comforting drones of "Mina Loy (M.O.H.)" and "Walking Shade" remind us why we liked Corgan's songwriting (and guitar work) the first time around, while "Cameraeye" meshes a late-'90s Depeche Mode groove with a plucky, new-wave hook. Make no mistake, there are radio hits here. Unfortunately, the strict quality control Corgan applied to Siamese Dream would have chopped this record down to an EP. Billy gets down with My Bloody Valentine for the cornball opener "All Things Change," but noisy guitar washes can't mask the half-baked feeling of the music, even if one forgives the line "Never sure what is worth fighting on for." The sickening melody of "Sorrows (In Blue)" begs to be skipped, as does the meandering "Now (And then)." The much-hyped Bee Gees cover "To Love Somebody," a collaboration with Robert Smith, is one of the few tracks that falls somewhere in the tolerable middle.
If Zwan's Mary Star Of The Sea found Corgan more or less in his comfort zone, than The Future Embrace succeeds in pushing the former pumpkin over the edge and into the water where he alternately sinks and swims.
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