The Elected, ‘Sun, Sun, Sun’
By user • Oct 9th, 2006 • Category: Album Reviews
It’s too bad Blake Sennet enjoys playing guitar in Rilo Kiley so much. If he was less apart of that overrated, indie folk outfit, there would be more time to concentrate on fronting his side-project, The Elected.
But as it stands, the Sennet-lead quartet is reduced to small tours and studio outputs every couple years. Which is unfortunate, because The Elected is like a superhero sidekick more powerful, intelligent and talented than the exemplar juggernaut it aids.
On the band’s second release, “Sun, Sun, Sun,” Sennet’s delicately passionate vocals are more raw, his heart more on his sleeve, lyric more relateably honest and musicianship more dynamic.
Aside from the bookend tracks which both register less than a minute of odd noises and distant voices, the album is void of filler.
From the Elliot Smith inspired “Fireflies in a Steel Mill” through the sashaying blues of “Biggest Star,” the Los Angeles group’s release is as diverse as their hometown.
“Not Going Home” – an elegantly vast ode to realizing home is wherever the heart is – would fit perfectly over the end credits of any road trip drama.
With the hauntingly acoustic title track, the ’50s doo wop “Did Me Good,” Americana folk ditty “The Bank and Trust” and seeming commercial jingle “I’ll Be Your Man,” the 14 song’s navigation through human emotions are as real as feelings they inspire.
Never does Sennet sound forced, like he is trying too hard to strike a chord or garner a reaction. Instead he just put his feelings down and hoped others felt the same.
It’s this brazen truthfulness that makes “Sun, Sun, Sun” brilliantly radiant.
Northern Star, Feb. 9, 2006
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