Elliott Smith is perhaps best known as that endearingly geeky guy seen taking a bow alongside mutant diva Celine Dion after he performed at this year's Academy Awards ceremony. "A folkier Beck" was what Smith was dubbed by critics that were quick to notice the two performers' similar taste in fashionably unfashionable Miami Vice-meets-Mars threads. A new, easily categorized star was born: Beck-meets-Dylan. Natch.
Through all of the press, Smith's awkwardness was mentioned more than his music, which was a shame. Last year's "Either/Or" was a real winner of a downer. Filled with unflinchingly honest tales about being a loser, a boozer and a drug user, the best songs, like "Between the Bars" and "Angeles," were as haunting as anything on Radiohead's "OK Computer." The album was mostly Elliott and his guitar, and the sparsely produced record was held together by Smith's hushed vocals. Not one to scream or shout, Smith made it clear that he was a man that had something to say, but he wasn't about to push himself on listeners. You either got it or you didn't. Apparently, few did.
If "Either/Or" was a bleak triumph that nobody bought, then Smith's brand new "XO" is a marginally lighter, slightly less impressive effort that many people will probably buy thanks to those Beck comparisons and the fact that DreamWorks is distributing the release. Expect feature articles christening Smith the "voice of a generation," but pray that "Rolling Stone" doesn't decide to photograph him in his underwear for a cover feature like they did with fellow "best kept secret" Liz Phair a few years back.
From the beginning of this record, Smith, like Phair, shows that he has the chops to survive being a critic's darling. On the opening track, "Sweet Adeline," Smith reveals a new, lush sound that still keeps the defiant, Prozac party spirit of his earlier work intact. While his previous releases were decidedly lo-fi, Smith definitely knows how to make a record. Orchestral flares, Beatles-esque production and cleaner mixing all help place this in a different league than "Either/Or," though not necessarily a better one.
Throughout "XO," Smith insists that success hasn't made him any happier. Now, we should all wish Smith all the best in his personal life, but, musically speaking, this is a very fortunate thing. "Waltz #2" tells the story of a girl the song's narrator once dated who is now hopelessly cold and detached, and it's the type of love-gone wrong tale that only an artist like the hyper-analytical and hyper-miserable Smith could create.
"She appears composed, so she is, I suppose," the narrator tries to convince himself, before he admits "Who can really tell?" The song culminates with the masochistic couplet "I'm never gonna know you now / but I'm gonna love you anyhow." Smith's narrators range from massively self-denying loners to hopeless romantics to angry outcasts, but they all possess a quiet dignity and miraculously avoid patheticness.
Smith pulls off this seemingly impossible feat by never glorifying himself in all of his Messiah-like misery like the wimpier and more pretentious folk-rock acts do. He separates himself from the pity parade crowd by barking at potential empathizers in "Bled White": "Don't you dare disturb me / While I'm balancing my past / 'Cos you can't help or hurt me / Like it already has." He may seem frail, but our man Elliott is self-sufficient and isn't looking for people to solve his problems for him. Unfortunately, all that vitriol can be off-putting in large doses.
Smith's songwriting talent lies in juxtaposing quirky lines and rhymes with more standard fare, heightening the emotional impact of the simpler words. When he whispers "I'm not half what I wish I was / I'm so angry / I don't think it will ever pass" with his plaintive voice in "Pitseleh," the album's best song, it comes across as heartbreakingly sincere and relatable.
It's quite clear that Smith is at his best when he keeps things simple like he does on "Pitseleh." As impressive as the more produced numbers are, they fail to resonate as deeply as the songs that are just Smith, his guitar and some piano accompaniment. Tracks like "Bottle Up and Explode" and "Independence Day" are a bit too forward in their irony, balancing more upbeat music with manic-depressive lyrics. It only half works. Some of these songs simply feel disingenuous compared to his more straight-forward fare.
With the exception of a few weak tracks, Smith establishes himself on "XO" as an artist to be reckoned with, and this record should expand his cult following. Soon enough, more than a few people are going to want a piece of this singer/songwriter, and it will be hard to blame them, even if "XO" is actually a slight step down for the artist himself.