Elliott Smith

For someone who's been deceased for over a year, Elliott Smith is quite a busy man. Having just released his sixth studio album (the posthumous “From A Basement On The Hill”) and with a live DVD to be released shortly, plus the release of this - the first single from the aforementioned LP - perhaps it's a good job he has a bit of room in his diary for the foreseeable future.

If you don't already know who Elliott Smith is then you're unlikely to care about the latest song by some dead singer-songwriter guy. If you have had the rather good luck to stumble across the amazing work of Mr. Smith then this is the review for you. (If you don't know who he is, then…. where have you been for the last ten years? and why are you on this website? Never mind, kids.)

Although Smith has often been lumped in with the whole twee, dour, miserable-acoustic-solo-artist gang, a quick listen to his latest opus will prove beyond any doubt that he has many other musical strings to his bow. He himself often cringed at the suggestion that he might be the successor to Nick Drake's isolated, bedroom-centric gentle angst. There are obvious similarities in the tone and emotional content but Elliott Smith had, for some years, been experimenting with the almost limitless possibilities of the studio environment. The lush arrangements and instrumentation on many of his most recent albums have more in common with “Abbey Road” era Beatles or even (yikes!) ELO – that's The Electric Light Orchestra for all you kids out there – than the stripped down approach of late Nick Drake or any of those other acoustic troubadours that might spring to mind. “Pretty (Ugly Before)” is no exception. It may well bare all the tried and tested hallmarks of an Elliott Smith tune (dark lyrics married to a sweet melody, acoustic guitars, hushed double-tracked vocals), but it is a fine example of beauty from simplicity. Smith has never sounded so confident in song or delivery and the beautiful harmonies of the final chorus sound like the sonic equivalent of honey pouring out of your speakers. The faux McCartney backwards guitar ending is a nice touch too. This is Elliott Smith on top form. One thing, however, does connect him with Nick Drake and a few other melancholic solo artists… he isn't around to enjoy the success.