25 years ago today (4/18/00), Elliott Smith released his fifth studio album Figure 8. As Smith’s last studio release before he died in 2003, the album expands into full-band arrangements, pianos, string sections, and Beatlesque touches—without losing the emotional vulnerability that defines his music. The album cover—the mural at Solutions Audio in L.A.—became an informal memorial after his death and remains a place of pilgrimage for fans.
