Elliott Smith

From A Basement On The Hill

Exaggerations aside E.Smith will be missed...

Review Score:

(8/10)
It's a long stretch to call E.Smith a genius or apply any other heavy epithet. It's needless. He built a name for himself because his songs had a characteristic way to strike a chord with many people. Where other songmakers also delved in this kind of ballad-centered music, Smith's uniqueness was in his knack to master melancholy like few do.

His untimely and full of questions death leaves a vacuum and that can't be denied. And this, his last recording, will be a rather macabre way for people out there to discover an artist who couldn't be commercial no matter what the stakes were but who kept a dedicated and increasing following with what we used to call "indie" music..

Some reviewers claim that "..from a basement on the hill" is more guitar-driven but to me it's a typical Smith album, one that has his trademark ethereal and autumnlike moments. It's an album that gets to you more and more as you keep listening to it. Like most of his albums did to begin with.

Strictly musically speaking, he has perhaps written better songs, but it's his peculiar and never-changing gloomy atmosphere that counts.

Surely this type of mood wont appeal to most, it's not even intended for most, and this is why he couldn't have appealed to a wider audience. No matter. Not everything is intended for everyone or is accessible to anyone. As far as music expressing different frequencies of the spectrum of feelings and intelligence goes E.Smith was in a way like L.Cohen is. And that is a compliment in itself if you know what i mean.

Do yourself a favor and listen to his earlier solo albums. If you're the type for such music you wont be let down even if he himself ultimately was...

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