Last fall, singer-songwriter Elliott Smith took his own life, leaving fans across the country broken-hearted. Smith had long been famous in indie circles for his soft, sad, Beatlesque ballads, as well as his battles with alcohol and drugs. Now, amid suspicion that Smith’s death may not have been a suicide, comes the release of his final album, From a Basement on the Hill. The album was near completion at the time of Smith’s death, and by listening to it one would not suspect that it was unfinished (except, perhaps, by the inclusion of too many tracks). It is important not to get too wrapped up in Smith’s death; this album stands on its own and must not be listened to simply for clues of suicidal despair (as we tend to do with last albums by artists such as Nick Drake, Kurt Cobain, and others).

The album begins on a somewhat strange note for Smith, with the slow-building rumble of “Coast To Coast,” a song reminiscent of the rock-based Figure 8. The song peaks raggedly and descends into muffled spoken-word. Upon hearing this, fans might think Smith changed his style with this last album. But don’t worry, he didn’t. The song that follows, “Let’s Get Lost,” is the best on the album. It is classic Elliott Smith, harkening back to Either/Or and his masterpiece “Miss Misery.” Smith sings in his delicate whisper, “Well I don’t know where I’ll go now/And I don’t really care who follows me there/But I’ll burn every bridge that I cross/and find some beautiful place to get lost.” As Elliott Smith songs go, it’s perfect.

“Pretty (Ugly Before)” is another gem, with some of Smith’s best lyrics: “And I feel pretty, pretty enough for you/I felt so ugly before, I didn’t know what to do.” “Don’t Go Down” and “Strung Out Again” are more in the rock vein, and “Fond Farewell” brings the tone back down into sadness. As I listen more and more to this album, I can’t help but be impressed: a majority of the songs are so beautiful it hurts. This may be the first time ever that a posthumously released recording holds up better than some released before it (most notably Figure 8). “This is not my life,” Smith sings, “It’s just a fond farewell to a friend.”

The second half of the album is just as effective as the first, with “Twilight,” the transcendent slide guitar-heavy “A Passing Feeling,” and the intimate “Last Hour.” The album closes with “A Distorted Reality is Now a Necessity To Be Free,” which is a minor key rock song that doesn’t fit as well as one of the prettier songs on the album would have. But regardless, From a Basement on the Hill is an incredible album that reminds us what a great artist Elliott Smith was, and will only solidify his place in music history. It shouldn’t be read as a suicide note, but rather as an epilogue to the career of a great musician. Never mind all the sadness: From a Basement on the Hill is indeed a beautiful place to get lost.