Sub Pop Records

Joshuah sez: No big huge drug addled story here. I ordered the Sliver/Dive single around 1992 and immediately had to hear more... (on A Form of Paying Attention November 2009 )
fudge packing sez: the second time I saw them was a 'surprise' show at Western Washington University ...it was a Mudhoney concert but... (on A Form of Paying Attention November 2009 )
fudge packing sez: I bought Bleach in 1989...I was 15 years old. Around the same time I discovered K Records via the Fallout... (on A Form of Paying Attention November 2009 )
smelly sez: that's the kid who's porking taylor swift. (on Obits on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon: Thursday, Nov. 19th! )
deleteme sez: In the 5th grade, my friend and I used to hole up in his room and listen to this album... (on A Form of Paying Attention November 2009 )
deleteme sez: In the 5th grade, my friend and I used to hole up in his room and listen to this album... (on A Form of Paying Attention November 2009 )

Blake Sennett and I are debating the definition of the word “filigree.” We both think it has something to do with horses. My dictionary, however, proves us wrong. It actually refers to “any ornamental work especially of fine wire of gold, silver, or copper.” We realize the horse association comes from the fact that saddles are often said to be filigreed. Then we move on to the word “piquant” and neither one of us can define it. But in case you’re wondering, it means “agreeably stimulating to the palate; engagingly provocative; pungent; spicy.”

These are the two words I remember as I sit down to write about The Elected. And it makes a lot of sense. Because really? I am writing about a quartet of Californians with filigreed hearts and piquant wit.
The Elected, fronted by Blake (Rilo Kiley guitarist/co-songwriter), released its debut album, Me First, in 2004. Recorded sporadically at pal Elliott Smith’s studio with Bright Eyes superman Mike Mogis and The Postal Service’s Jimmy Tamborello, the album was filled with sparse, intimate gems twinkling pop songs that recalled 60s-inspired West Coast pop, the blissful twang of Gram Parsons and the crumpled whispers of Neil Young.

Sun, Sun, Sun furthers that tradition but also raises the bar. Where Me First sparkled with a lo-fi airiness anchored primarily by a mixture of drum machines, sequencers, guitar and lap steel, Sun, Sun, Sun takes that aesthetic to great new heights. Produced by Blake and multi-instrumentalist Mike Bloom at various L.A. locales, as well as various places along the road while on tour with Rilo Kiley, it draws from deep within the classic rock canon summoning everything from early Grateful Dead, The…