I dunno how popular he was but albums such as "It's A Wonderful Life" have been mainstays of my life. It's a beautiful album and it's a sad loss. He was in his 40s.
And unexpected. I mean, Sparklehorse could be sad and moody, but it's nothing like Elliott Smith where precisely zero people who had ever heard the guy's music were surprised when he killed himself.
"You laugh at me because I'm different; I laugh at you because I'm on nitrous."