From a Basement on the Hill

A solid postmortem release from the indie king. The album was mostly recorded and produced before he died, and final production was done by some of his friends. This album takes us back to guitar-heavy Elliott. Great range, as usual, from quiet intimate ballad to loud noise pop. As usual, beautifully orchestrated, rich instrumentation, and lots of Fab Four influences. Note: officially released Oct 19th, three days shy of his one-year death anniversary.
Personal favorites: 2, 3, 6, 15. FCC: 5, 7, 12, 15.
1. Noise pop, but not your average pop song. Full sound, even banjo. Starts w/40 secs strings hum. Banjo later transforms to piano. Tones down, and spoken vocals over piano take over. Quiet fade out.
2. ** Between Nick Drake and the young Neil Young, beautiful acoustic ballad, one of Smith’s best, with great vocal harmonies. **
3. * Power pop, mid tempo. Starts mellow but picks up. Guitars, short CCR-like riff, heartbreaking piano, wow. *
4. Grandaddy. Synths and guitar noise, clear vox. Mid tempo.
5. FCC (I think) few seconds in. Starts with guitar and vox, drums explode later. Slow tempo, Pink Floydy, wailing guitars.
6. ** Inspiring tune, heartbreaking lyrics ("fond farewell to a friend"), and you got to get the chill when Elliott sings about suicide. **
7. FCC ("fuck up"). Starts quiet with spoken sample and lush soundscape. Piano rises, slightly off, vox enter, choir, guitars, drums… great buildup.
8. Quiet filler that befits its title.
9. Heavy acoustic strum, slow & quiet, Elliott’s sad vocals. Synths/strings enter is long repetitive bridge, and stick around for the rest. Nice.
10. Beatleseque twangy slow/mid opening. Another buildup track, becomes louder and faster.
11. Quiet, acoustic, touching.
12. FCC ("fuck","shit"). Back to loud noise pop. Mid tempo, sharp guitar bridges.
13. More Beatles inspired tune and execution. Mid tempo.
14. Slow, quiet. Vox echoed + humming choir. Quiet electric guitar.
15. * FCC "fuck" (but repeated in such an angelic echo... how can this offend anyone is beyond me...). Featured in MoveOn.org Future Soundtrack for America. Twangy guitars, high-pithced vox, drums added, it’s good! *