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'Figure 8': A reclusive star's reluctant shine

Smith
Smith is ambitious and honest in his latest offering, "Figure 8"  

May 18, 2000
Web posted at: 2:58 p.m. EST (1858 GMT)

Elliott Smith
"Figure 8"
(DreamWorks Records)

(CNN) -- "XO" turned Elliott Smith from a cult favorite into a critical darling. "Either/Or" made him an Oscar nominee. Now, "Figure 8" may just push him closer to the stardom he is attempting to avoid.

It's as if the polished dramatic musical ideas and heart-wrenching lyrics found peppered throughout this release's 16 songs aren't designed for mass appeal. Smith will write and produce gorgeous songs, but he doesn't seem all that interested in whether you listen.

Perhaps it doesn't matter. Like his musical forebears -- Elvis Costello, Jackson Browne and Paul Westerberg spring to mind -- Smith has the talent for pointing at his own desperation and isolation anxieties with wide-open honesty. In his latest album, the song "Everything Means Nothing to Me" is a prime example. "I'm not uncomfortable feeling weird/lonely leered, options disappeared, but I know what to do," Smith sings.

Sadness, ambition

"Somebody That I Used to Know" and "Everything Reminds Me of Her" are penultimate break-up songs, detailing the singer's inner turmoils while simultaneously pointing to the other party's foibles. They embody the new age of revenge: I'm not OK I don't care if you're OK. Both are caustic and brutally honest portrayals of the post-relationship hurt that can only be written by someone who's spent hours, days and months reflecting on that pain.

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"Everthing Reminds Me of Her"

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"Son of Sam"

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"Wouldn't Mama Be Proud?"

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(Sound courtesy Dreamworks Records)
 

Musically, "Figure 8" is more ambitious that any of Smith's former offerings. Sure, there are all of the orchestral touches found on "XO," but those here are bolder and brighter, yet lacking ostentation. Producers Tom Rothrock and Rob Schnapf -- they've worked with Smith since his days in the Portland, Oregon-based band Heatmiser -- have perfected Smith's formula, giving him room to develop both lyrically and musically.

Bits of Simon and Garfunkel, as well as touches of the Beach Boys, whisper throughout the album; they help dramatize Smith's vocal stylings. Equally important, they make the songs feel familiar, but don't hit you over the head with repetition. After a couple of listenings, though, you're sure to start humming the melody of "Everything Reminds Me of Her" or "Wouldn't Mama Be Proud?"

With this album, Smith joins Michael Penn, Aimee Mann and Jon Brion and other singer/songwriters who are attempting pop music's revitalization. Song structures and chord changes drive the tune, rather than distorted guitars and unintelligible lyrics. But their efforts don't guarantee pop music is off the endangered-species list. With all due respect, these artists aren't pretty enough to be coveted by 12-year-olds, nor are they perceived as hip enough for the college crowd. Still, none of them, Smith included, has given up.

  ALSO

Feature: Elliott Smith keeps moving

 

Humor, desperation

Smith is known as a folk-punk troubadour, yet crank 'em up pop numbers like Junk Bond Trader" give this album balance. Another, "L.A.," complete with wry observations about his new hometown, demonstrates his ability to place tongue firmly in cheek without losing a sense of desperation. As he sings: "Things I never done, cars parked in the sun/living in the day/But last night I was about to throw it all away."

And just when you thought he was beginning to take it all too seriously, the songwriter offers up "Can't Make a Sound." With lyrics like "Bored in the role, but he can't stop/standing up to sit back down" and a pumped-up acoustic guitar jam, he closes the album with a touch of perspective.

After all, he asks, "Why should you want any other when you're a world within a world?"



RELATED STORIES:
Elliott Smith keeps moving
May 17, 2000
Review: Aimee Mann offers sweet music, bitter lyrics, disappointing listening
May 11, 2000
Critically acclaimed, commercially snubbed: Michael Penn tries again
April 25, 2000

RELATED SITES:
ElliottSmith.net
DreamWorks Records

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