Though odder and odder this one becomes with each listen, I think I'vefinally found the piece of my heart that loves The Elected. With onefoot planted firmly in the indie psyche-rock weeds and the other in themore low-down country aspects of life, this Los Angeles ensemble playswith genres and styles in an effort to find their niche, but the truthis they needn't try so hard sometimes. Me Firstis a well-paced and structured debut with funny, intelligent lyricsabout classic themes but with clever twists. All the while, there'splenty to swallow whole, as savoring it instead of devouring it won'tmake it any more logical or understood, like the finer moments of theFlaming Lips or the Shins. This is the road trip record for drivingthrough the dusty south and southwest, with pure Americana and shortstories to keep the feet firmly on the ground, though the mind is freeto roam. Blake Sennett, principal songwriter and guitarist in RiloKiley, is also the mastermind behind The Elected, and certainsimilarities can be found in the two bands. Sennett seems to have someya-yas to get out about relationships, though, and that's where thesesongs have their strengths. Whether it's failed romantic relationshipsor hiding the secrets from family and friends, the subjects of thesongs are lived-in, and that's the the real appeal of The Elected'sdebut. In the age of vapid and vacant pop stars who steal the beats andbasslines of classic songs to try and duplicate the stardom or revive agenre bigger than them, it's nice to hear a band that can just do theirthing and sound like they've been around forever making music with thebands of the age. This is record I will be listening to all year, I canjust feel it.samples:
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