Elliott Smith by Elliott Smith
The album art for Elliott Smith's self-titled sophomore offering perfectly captures the leitmotifs of the record. It captures a silhouette spiraling into the depths of a city, evoking a simultaneous feeling of inevitable loss and momentary hope.
Juxtaposed with the prevalent grunge alt-rock movement of the mid-90's that was emanating from the Pacific Northwest, Smith's sound was the anti-Cobain. The eponymous album, "Elliott Smith," a critical follow-up to the 1994 debut "Roman Candle," is pared down and intimate.
This sound is in contrast to later experimentation with full orchestration, including an expansion of instruments (played mostly by Smith) and an exploration of moods and feelings.
"Elliott Smith" is gorgeous for its honest sound and, yes, dark and depressing words. Listening to him sing "But there's a price that you'll pay/For trying hard to become whatever they are/And saying whatever they say/ So help yourself to this bitter pill/ Or somebody else will" on the track "Single File," certainly could be taken as an unknowing foreshadow of his almost immediate success and rapid deterioration.
His intense fingers pick sweet, desperate songs of dependence and rejection with the ever-present underlying theme of drugs. The entire album is a journey, and Elliott guides you through the peaks and valleys of need and desperation, anxiety and hope.