Figure 8

VINYL FORMAT. REISSUE. His second release for the Dreamworks label, and fifth overall, Figure 8 is a lush and beautifully melancholy collection of pop songs. Gone is the intimate lo-fi feel of his Kill Rock Stars albums, replaced by intricate arrangements and orchestration. One gets the feeling that the sound of his earlier work was not by choice but by economic necessity and Smith was now, with a major label budget and backing, able to establish himself as a pop craftsman on par with Brian Wilson and Paul McCartney.