Another Solid burn IMO.
Elliott Smith
Date: July 21, 1995
Label: KILL ROCK STARS
Genre: ROCK
Category: Rock/Pop
All Music Guide Pick: Best of Artist
Roman Candle, Elliott Smith's first solo record, was largely ignored when it was released last year. The frontman for Portland, Oregon's Heatmiser has gained a bit of attention since then, however, changing labels and touring with Mary Lou Lord. Smith's solo work is a far cry from that of the noisy Heatmiser. His eponymous second album is mostly him and his acoustic guitar, but is more full-bodied and produced with a slicker edge than Roman Candle. Smith's songs are riddled with dark lyrics of drugs, drinking and relationships, but that's counterbalanced by his soft, soothing vocals and smooth guitar strums. Thankfully, the folk-ish songs that Smith pens are more like artists of an earlier era (Nick Drake, for example) and never fall into the leftover scrap tune/out-of-tune lo-fi rut that traps many contemporary solo artists. In mapping his distinctive style, Smith has discovered many buried treasures, including: "Coming Up Roses," "Southern Belle" and "Needle In The Hay."
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