Elliott Smith
New Moon

New Moon, an apt image, expressed by the cover itself, with its nocturnal blue color enveloping a landscape that ironically resembles a metropolis (Portland?), where skyscrapers are overlapped with newspaper clippings, texts taken who knows where, and where the moon itself is full of words in no particular order; in short, a contrast between the apparent calm of that enveloping blue, and a confusion of words, terms, thoughts... in summary: a portrait of Elliott Smith.

It is not an image of the "saccharine cheerful folk artist" that should emerge of the artist, because even though doses of sweetness were the recipe of his songs, one must consider the drug problems that characterized the artist's life and resulted in his suicide (about 4 years ago, caused by various stab wounds to the chest).
He has therefore finished doing concerts, but not making records, because this record seems to have been currently recorded by him, as if, having returned for a moment among the living, he said "thank you for everything" to all those who listened to him, loved him, up to the point of dedicating a small phrase to him in the famous mural in Los Angeles, and gave them a sincere gift, as is precisely this album.

Speaking in less "metaphysical" terms, the creator of this compilation is the Kill Rock Stars label, which had accompanied Elliott in that period between 1994 and 1997 (therefore these are unreleased tracks from "Elliott Smith" and "Either/Or"). That period is perhaps the favorite of true fans, who became intimate with his music, his ideas, through two simple means: guitar and voice (sometimes you can also hear a drum in the background, as if it had to ask permission from the other two not to disturb, noticeable in the alternative version of "Pretty Mary K").
When a concept of "independent music" is given, there are often many discussions, caused by different ideas about it; but it is right here, in this artist and in this album, that the simplicity of the concept is found: recordings sometimes accompanied by a muted whistle, no digital touch-up, notes that sometimes are not played well and "crack"; it is in all this that one notices the beauty and intimacy of the music, unlike the mega-recordings of current groups that seem to be the main concern for a good record. Elliott denied all this, he didn't care about the quality of the recording, he looked the music in the face honestly and ignored prejudices.

The first track, "Angel In The Snow" is certainly what best projects us inside the album: initially chords that graze the highest strings, then an attack of incisive low notes that accompany the whole piece, just over 2 minutes that are enough for us to say "this guy really knew his stuff".
It is instead in "Riot Coming", "Georgia, Georgia", "Big Decision", "Almost Over" that all of Elliott's energy is found, masked by acoustic arpeggios and phrases, but expressed by a voice that served as a "release valve" for his feelings, and the demonstration of this is precisely in "High Times", with a calm intro but ready to explode in "Needle In The Hay" style, which finds that outlet in the last minute with a singing that reaches the peak of emotion, then calming down to fade into silence, exactly like a summer storm, of short but intense duration. A primitive version of "Miss Misery" is just what was needed to remember the fundamental pieces of the artist, as well as the already mentioned "Pretty Mary K", unrecognizable from the "Figure 8" version and much closer to "Angeles" from "Either/Or".

Rock band instrumentation is not completely absent in this album either, "Fear City" and "New Monkey" are examples of pop-rock very close to today, just like "Either/Or", oddly not appearing in the album of the same name. "Seen How Things Are Hard" is a title that immediately stands out among the many, and the song is no less: it immediately differentiates itself in the type of recording, the voice seems very distant from the instruments, as if Smith were singing behind a closed door.

If the entire album has given the right image of an original Elliott Smith, the last track confirms this hypothesis, "Half Right" is a very sweet piece, full of melancholy and solitude, feelings recognizable in the lyrics of the song, where Elliott evokes an imaginary friend, who is none other than himself ("You shouldn't talk to yourself\Well I pictured somebody else\Someone that looks like\What I look like"), a "right half"... a solitude that is no longer bitter, but sweetened by simple arpeggios that move along the neck of the guitar, causing a sublime whistling of strings that render the whole intimate.

24 tracks in one disc, or rather... in a double disc, released at the right moment, in the right way, which will satisfy those who were hungry for that atmosphere that only this solitary guy knew how to create.