Continuing a countdown of my favorite albums of 1995…

#6 – Elliott Smith – Elliott Smith

This is another album I circled back to after discovering the artist a few years down the road. In this case, I first heard Elliott Smith’s 1998 album XO before picking up the three that preceded it.

This self-titled release was Smith’s sophomore effort, and his first on the Kill Rock Stars label. It carried over the lo-fi acoustic style of his debut — the sound most people associate with Smith, though his music was much more produced on future releases.

This album is primarily about drug addiction, a subject with which Smith was sadly all too familiar. Almost every song is either a direct or metaphorical take on the topic.

In this song, for example, the “red roses” are apparently a reference to the little burst of blood released into the syringe when shooting up heroin.

That can make for some bleak listening, but Smith’s dexterity with an acoustic guitar, his wounded vocals, and his way with a beautiful melody combine to give the material a sad but lovely sort of majesty.