XO

Personnel: Elliott Smith; Rob Schnapf (guitar); Farhad Behroozi, Russel Cantor, Pamela Dealmeida, Waldemar Dealmeida, Henry Ferber, Jerrod Goodman, Peter Hatch, Raymond Tischer II (strings); Bruce Escovitz (flute, baritone saxophone, bass); Roy Poper (trumpet); R. James Atkinson (French horn); Jon Brion (chamberlain, vibraphone); Joey Waronker (drums); Tom Rothrock (drum loop).
Producers: Tom Rothrock, Rob Schnapf, Elliot Smith.
Engineers: Tom Rothrock, Rob Schnapf, Elliot Smith, Larry Crane.
Recorded at Sunset Sound, Sound Factory, Ocean Way, Sonora, Los Angeles, California; Jackpot!, Portland, Oregon.
The Cinderella-esque climb from lo-fi indie cult artist to Grammy nominee/major label darling must have been a perilous one for Smith, who makes the leap to the big time here after three well-regarded albums on small labels. He's lost none of his bite, though. The production values on XO may be slightly higher, but Smith's vision remains undiluted.
The production, centered around acoustic guitar augmented by keyboards and lush vocal harmonies, recalls pop icons like the Beach Boys (especially on the closing acapella cut), Beatles and Big Star, but this is no sunny Cali-pop album. Leavening the instrumental brightness are Smith's Nick Drake-ish whisper and his thoroughly downcast lyrics, which cast him squarely in the Mark Eitzel/Smog camp of unrelenting self-effacement and misery. The combination of Smith's internal angst and his melodic pop constructions makes for a compelling artistic tension.