THE ELECTED
Sun, Sun, Sun
Sub Pop
· This one’s a grower, not a shower.
Although they use more ambitious arrangements than their label mates Fruit Bats and Holopaw, The Elected fit perfectly in the roster of new folk-pop that Sub Pop has been cultivating. On Sun, Sun, Sun, these sun-kissed L.A. musicians channel The Flaming Lips, The Byrds and The Elephant Six, but even with those comparisons, the album doesn’t stick like you’d think. At first only the lush anthem "Not Going Home," with its easy beat, layers of sound and singalong chorus has any pull. But if you work past some of the questionable lyrical content and "Biggest Star," the seven-minute, sax-heavy blues jam, Sun, Sun, Sun slowly reveals its charms. With girl-group doo-wop and slide guitar punctuating the album, The Elected swing from stripped-down nostalgia on the title track to loping love songs with a cohesive charm that belies the piecemeal recording. Separately the songs are only above average, but surprisingly, as an album, it’s pretty good.
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