The Elected


I don't want to frame this in the context of a Jenny Lewis vs. Blake Sennett album debate, as others have before and will continue to do. I think it's clear that J-Lew will get more press and more sales than The Elected. She's a gorgeous, sweet singer. He's short and moustachioed (nothing wrong with that, it just doesn't translate as well).

I will say, however, that I am incredibly eager to hear Sun, Sun, Sun. I think my appreciation for Sennett as a singer/songwriter began when I saw Rilo Kiley in L.A. this summer. "Ripchord" stood out to me then, as it had never done on the album, as a very good song. The vocals revealed themselves to be more than the precious whispers I had always written them off as, coming off as wonderfully strange and heartfelt. After that I gave The Elected a chance, and found the songs from Me First to be similarly good.

Soon, tracks from Sun, Sun, Sun began to leak, and I was really hooked. They rocked so unafraid, so easy and so awesome. The unironic saxophones, the solos, the harmonies - it all added up to music bigger than anybody's been making for years. It's the classic rock station playing while nobody's talking during the best part of the drive, when everything is wide-open. God, I can't wait.


From Sun, Sun, Sun (buy):

The Elected - Not Going Home (this is what I'm talking about.)

The Elected - Biggest Star (yeaaaaaahhhhhh.)

The Elected - Fireflies In A Steel Mill (the last minute is perfection.)

Dig the album cover, too.

Enjoy.