Musical Style
The album is of a similar musical style to Roman Candle and Either/Or in its minimalist, acoustic sound. Smith mostly appears alone on his acoustic guitar, although he is occasionally backed up by the odd musical instrument, such as a harmonica and drums.
Smith's gentle fingerpicking on the album has been noted by many critics, and the album has been described as a fusion of "the Beatles' pop sense with Neil Young's sense of doom". Pitchfork.com rated "Needle in the Hay" as the 27th best song of the decade.
Read more about this topic: Elliott Smith (album)
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