I'm a sucker for
anything Elliott Smith related. From his stripped-to-the-marrow early recordings through the wall-of-sound arrangements that surrounded his intrepid melancholy on later albums, Smith never lost his grip on what made him such an esteemed musician. He nailed the sound of being beaten down, one punch away from a knockout, and yet still enthralled with some small, beautiful detail on his fall toward the pavement.
It's crazy to think that in October it will be seven years since
Smith's death. Next month, Olympia indie
Kill Rock Stars will re-release two pieces of the indie icon's history: his debut solo album
Roman Candle (originally out on Cavity Search Records and newly remastered by
Tape Op Magazine's Larry Crane, who did an incredible job on the last bit pit of posthumous Smith recordings,
New Moon) and 2004's
From a Basement on the Hill.
To whet the appetite of Elliott Smith fans a month before these discs hit the streets, Kill Rock Stars
Twittered today that it's offering offering up "Last Call," one of my favorite tunes off
Roman Candle. You can hear the scrape of the strings and the strain of being "sick of it all"
here. And from
Basement, you can hear
"Twilight," a lament on already being "somebody's baby" that mixes references to being committed to both a lover and drugs, a common theme in Smith's songs.
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