So how does it feel to work with Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan?

Despite having recorded one of Corgan's songs for the soundtrack to "Stigmata," Natalie Imbruglia still doesn't know.

"We didn't actually work together," the Australian songstress told MTV News on Thursday of the song. Imbruglia says that she worked "very distantly" with Corgan on the track, titled "Identity."

The chief Pumpkin, who handled the score for the upcoming film, sent Imbruglia what the singer calls "an amazing demo" which she took into a London recording studio.

"Being a fan of the Pumpkins, I think that most of the things he does are pretty amazing," Imbruglia admitted of her appraisal of Corgan's work.

The singer describes the result of the sessions (which will be the first single from the "Stigmata" soundtrack) as "atmospheric, intense, almost depressing." Not exactly what fans of her hit "Torn" might be expecting.

"It's a big departure, but a good departure,"

she said on Thursday. "It's pain beyond pain to the point of being numb.... It's about struggling for connection or response."

Of course, this one-off project isn't the only thing on Imbruglia's plate. The singer has her sights set on a new album, but she admits that things aren't exactly rolling along.

"It's going slowly, but it's going," Imbruglia said. "It's taken a while to get back into the writing process.... I want to be able to give it my 100 percent attention."

But while she knows that new material is a long time coming, she vows that she won't be rushed in putting the new album together. "I want the album to be done," Imbruglia said. "I don't want it to drag out, but I want to have a good album.... You've got to get yourself in the right zone."

She is also optimistic that her work on "Identity" might help get things moving again.

"Being in the studio doing a Billy Corgan song has got to be good for the confidence," she concluded.

The

"Stigmata" soundtrack, featuring Imbruglia's work with Corgan as well as tracks from David Bowie, Bjork, Massive Attack, Chumbawamba, and others, hits stores on August 24.