To those more familiar with Elliott's recent albums on Dreamworks (XO, Figure 8) the folky-minimalism of his debut will be a significant departure. "Roman Candle," recorded while he was still a member of the punk/grunge/whatever group "Heatmiser," is gloriously barren and unproduced. (Believe its to a four-track tape recorder in his living room) While the arrangements are fairly simple (rarely more than Smith and a guitar or two) his songwriting was already fully formed. Additionally, the sparseness gives way to the intensely personal lyrics which are his most troubled and intriguing.
The album is a bit brief (Only around thirty minutes) but there are no dud songs and a couple are among my very favorites. "Roman Candle" is a stirring portrait of bottled rage and "Condor Ave" is just absolutely haunting. I think comparisons of Elliott to Bob Dylan and especially Nick Drake are reasonable. His lyrics have that ineffability to them. An important aspect to his songwriting is his background in punk. His guitar technique is often pretty aggressive and he says what he needs to and gets out of the way, resulting in short effective songs. I can't really decide whether this, his self-title second album, or Either/Or is my album of his more spartan indie recordings but that consistency is a testament to the excellence of Elliott Smith's abilities. If you're an Elliott Smith album, his humble beginnings are a must hear. For anyone else Roman Candle, I think is the best introduction to him. Thomas Aikin
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