Amazon.co.uk Review
On
XO, Elliott Smith leaves the indie doldrums behind and takes wing to new, lush surroundings. By adding full instrumentation to his acoustic reveries, Smith has ascended to a new level of song-writing that shores up his gentle voice and country-tinged guitar playing with extra layers of vocal arrangements and charming piano vamps. Strains of classic rock filter into the Beatlesque "Baby Britain" and the Beach Boys-inspired "I Didn't Understand"- but Smith succeeds in adapting them to his style rather than the other way around. A foot soldier in DreamWorks' war on standard-issue rock & roll, Smith joins new label mates Rufus Wainwright and Morphine as sophisticated interpreters of the new male psyche.
XO is a stunning shadow print of a soul adrift in the music industry, a dark place indeed.
--Lois Maffeo
CD Description
The Cinderella-esque climb from lo-fi indie cult artist to Grammy nominee/major label darling must have been a perilousone for Smith, who makes the leap to the big time here after three well-regarded albums on small labels. He's lost noneof his bite, though. The production values on XO may be slightly higher, but Smith's vision remains undiluted.
The production, centred around acoustic guitar augmented by keyboards and lush vocal harmonies, recalls pop icons like the Beach Boys (especially on the closing acapella cut), Beatles and Big Star, but this is no sunny Cali-pop album. Leavening the instrumental brightness are Smith's Nick Drake-ish whisper and his thoroughly downcast lyrics, which cast him squarely in the Mark Eitzel/Smog camp of unrelenting self-effacement and misery. The combination of Smith's internal angst andhis melodic pop constructions makes for a compelling artistic tension.