Employing the use of a multitude of instruments, from drums to harmonica and organ to cello (all of which he plays himself!), the album’s sound is more lush and rich than his previous recordings, and this newfound ambition displayed an evolution of Smith’s music while remaining steadfast to his signature sound and his personal and pensive lyricism. Although Elliot Smith became a darling of the indie rock scene with the release of his first two albums, 1994’s propitious Roman Candle and 1995’s breathtaking, self-titled effort, it wasn’t until Smith released Either/Or, twenty years ago today, that his legend became cemented in stone.Įither/Or wasn’t an emphatic departure from Smith’s two solo releases that preceded it, but it did hint at a broadening of scope. And there is no album that better exhibits Smith’s ability to delicately yet emphatically break hearts than Either/Or. Yet at the the same time, Smith’s lyrics can be sobering and utterly humbling, as later in “Ballad of Big Nothing” we are reminded of our utter insignificance when he further wails, “do what you want to whenever you want to…though it doesn’t mean a thing.” Such is the conundrum that is Elliott Smith, an artist with a catalog of songs that are served with a gentle whisper, yet pack the emotional punch of an atomic bomb. You can do what you want to, there’s no one to stop you,” hinting at the unstoppable force pulsating within each of us. Within the third track (“Ballad of Big Nothing”) off of his third album, Either/Or, released February 25th 1997, Smith confidently croons, “You can do what you want to whenever you want to. But his music is curiously empowering too.

His unique and deeply affecting brand of lo-fi indie rock has an intriguing power and his introspective lyricism embodies the anguish that so often accompanies life. Across the Margin commemorates the album that catapulted Elliott Smith into the limelight, Either/Or, on its twentieth anniversary…Įlliott Smith is a wonderment.

Elliott smith either or album cover