ELLIOTT SMITH
New Moon
Kill Rock Stars
· Tombstone blues.
When dealing with posthumous releases from one’s favourite artists, a strong sense of distrust often walks hand-in-hand with an insatiable curiosity. For Elliott Smith fanatics, this has happened twice already – with the officially released (and heavily edited) version of his final album, From the Basement on the Hill, and the subsequent online leak of Basement’s other half featuring some of Smith’s most staggering works of heartbreaking genius. Digging through the archives, Smith’s long-time friend Larry Crane unearthed, re-mixed and re-mastered a double album’s worth of outtakes and alternates for New Moon, a collection which stands up against the albums Smith himself agonized over.
Primarily recorded during Smith’s change in fortunes from indie troubadour to Oscar broadcast infamy (thanks to his contributions to the Good Will Hunting soundtrack), New Moon captures Smith at his creative apex. Before the epic pop of XO and Figure 8, the crippling drug relapses and disappearance from public life, the Smith of New Moon is an artist in full and perfect connection with his muse. Cast off from his albums, intended for compilations, or recorded purely for himself, the songs of New Moon rank amongst his best. "Whatever (Folk Song in C)" surpasses its tossed off title. It’s the perfect minimalist, lovelorn lament in which he asks, "What are you doing hanging out with me?" Cut from the album with which it shares its title, "Either/Or" makes its minor organ arrangement sound epic, the tune’s melody grabs your heart and refuses to let go. "First Timer" rests as one of his sweetest dream romances – "wishing I was someone else/ When I see you sitting by yourself."
Ending on his stripped-back cover of Big Star’s "Thirteen," now on its way to becoming as well-known as Alex Chilton’s original, New Moon doesn’t elevate Smith’s reputation, but solidifies it. It’s an even bigger, sadder proposition, to think of what he would have accomplished had he lived. New Moon is a snapshot of an irreplaceable artist on the upswing, every bit as vital as the music he chose to bestow upon his audience during his lifetime.
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