Either/Or
Smith expands his sound a bit on this, his
third album. Sure, nobody's going to confuse him with Brian
Setzer or anything, but there is a lot more layering in each
song, actually doubling the sound pastiche and adding more interesting
flourishes to his relatively simple folk rock approach. His
voice is still spider web thin and the melodies delicate as
old lace, but the fleshed out sound gives him a little more
oomph in the emotional department. Despite being a talented
singer/songwriter, listening to too much Elliott Smith can certainly
wear on your nerves. We're not talking about a Sleater-Kinney
wear on your nerves type thing, but more like "I wanna
slit my throat and light myself on fire" nonsense. I tend
to waver on my feelings about Smith and this album, but overall,
it's a solid outing and Smith's second best work--but put some
space between listens if you value your sanity. It's also almost
impossible to listen to this album and not think about Good
Will Hunting and Smith's bizarre appearance on the Academy
Awards along side Celine Dion and Trisha Yearwood--certainly
one of the weirdest moments in rock history. |
Elliott Smith
I guess we can call it the next logical
step in the Pacific Northwest 's music scene: mope folk.
I guess it's what you get when you take grunge, remove the testosterone
rage, add even more heroin and unplug the amps. Elliott Smith,
the gentle, pock-marked misfit who probably showers once a decade
is the poster boy for this brand of twee rock that isn't afraid
to use the word "fuck" and sing thinly veiled songs
about intravenous drugs. It's clear from the outset that this
is not a happy man we're dealing with here. He sounds precariously
perched on the edge of the wagon--ready for any excuse to fall.
There are some hints at his past involvement with Heatmiser,
but the pop drive has been layered with delicately plucked acoustic
guitars and subtle harmonies. The vision of Smith writing these
tunes sitting on a bare mattress in a squalid, studio apartment
is more than palpable. I have no idea if this is the case, of
course, but one can't help but feel the lonely and claustrophobic
dirtiness of the whole thing. |
XO
First let me say that I went to see a Smith
show at Irving Plaza for the XO tour and have really
never been so bored in my entire life. The man was lifeless
and the crowd in a stupor. Maybe he was just having a bad night,
or maybe I was. In either case, I barely stuck around for the
non-existent encore and left feeling disappointed and just plain
sad. The album XO, on the other hand, is a brighter
affair than its predecessor both in terms of musicality and
production. The opener, "Sweet Adeline," is a great
song, and even includes crash symbols (a first for Smith). It's
amazing what those Dreamworks dollars will do for you. Gone
is the hiss between tracks. Gone is the intimate, down and dirty,
replaced by a way more layered, swaying, chorus-laden approach.
"Waltz #2" is a perfect example of his expanded, rich
sound, which still works perfectly with the Elliott Smith folk
rock base. For some bizarre reason, one of the tunes reminds
me of The Monkees--granted it would be the drug-addicted Monkees--but
the rest is laden with tunes that can only be described as Paul
Simon, Brian Wilson and, honestly, Elliott Smith sounding stuff. This
album is a way easier listen than anything that came before
it in his catalogue, and stands, hands down, as his best album.
It's as if he came out his cocoon and really put some effort
into writing for other people, rather than just writing to curtail
his own misery. Perhaps it's love? The title, XO, would
lead us to believe this may be the case, but I'm sure it's actually
some kind of veiled heroin reference. I'm sure there are some
fans out there that are pissed as hell this guy would parlay
his Good Will Hunting success into a major label deal,
but who can blame the guy? This is a really good album, and
a terrific part of the legacy he has left behind. |
Musical Connections:
Heatmiser
|
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