Elliott Smith - Figure 8

Son Of Sam - 4
Somebody That I Used To Know - 4
Junk Bond Trader - 4
Everything Reminds Me Of Her - 3
Everything Means Nothing To Me - 4
L.A. - 3
In The Lost And Found (Honky Bach) - 4
Stupidity Tries - 3
Easy Way Out - 3
Wouldn't Mama Be Proud - 3
Color Bars - 3
Happiness - 3
Pretty Mary K - 3
I Better Be Quiet Now - 3
Can't Make A Sound - 4
Bye - 4
Total - 55 stars / 16 tracks = 3.44 stars

Right out of the box, I was kind of blown away by Elliott Smith. "Son Of Sam" is a fantastic song, and an incredible way to begin the album. It's upbeat and catchy, but not to the point of upsetting its credibility.

That trend continues with "Somebody That I Used To Know," "Junk Bond Trader," and "In The Lost And Found (Honky Bach)." Each song has a distinctive voice, greatly helped by varied instrumentation. The harpsichord on "Junk Bond Trader" for instance, is used for identity, but not as a kitchy crutch.

From the middle running to nearly the end, there is a lower dip, where the songs are relatively hookless, and usually slower-paced. With "Can't Make A Sound," however, Smith shows that he can be just as good in a slower setting. It all caps off with "Bye," which doesn't not sound like Tchaikovsky. It's simple, but still affective, and kind of haunting.

While Figure 8 began to disappoint a little toward the middle, it was only able to be disappointing because of how much I enjoyed the earlier tracks.