Zwan - Mary Star of the Sea (2003)
Just dug out this CD, haven't heard it in years but it is more familiar to me than most Smashing Pumpkins. The weather is starting to look up and it's a good, loud summer album so far. I think there are about 50 guitars layered onto each track. Good vibes, and Corgan is not annoying me in the slightest. The production is deliberately analogue I think, it sounds like the loudest 70's guitar album ever, it crackles under the strain sometimes, and I know that's not my speakers.
Also it looks increasingly like this was a one-off affair, apparently the band did not split amicably.
edit: for those who don't know Zwan was a 'supergroup' led by Corgan and had the Pumpkins drummer, some girl from A Perfect Circle (meh) and David Pajo from Slint. And another guy.
Dog Faced Hermans - Hum of Life (1993)
My new favourite band possibly. They're a Scottish anarcho-punk band with folk influences who were based in Amsterdam, this is their penultimate album and amazingly the follow up 'These Deep Buds' is meant to be even better. I say anarcho-punk but by this point their sound had evolved, the songs had gotten weirder and there is plenty of experimental noise; the singer Marion Coutts is brilliant, at times sounding like an exuberant female Mark E. Smith.
I got this one from the blog that PMO shared. The guitarist has expressed interest in producing my friend's band after a chance meeting in Amsterdam, which is nice!