You’ve got to feel bad for Blake Sennett. As the guitarist in Rilo Kiley, he spends so much of his time standing there next to Jenny Lewis, who naturally gets all the attention because she a) is super pretty, b) is kind of tough and c) appeared in Troop Beverly Hills as a kid. Sad, too, is the fact that he felt compelled to write the lyrics “She gets so mean when she’s drunk/ Said ‘you’ve only gotten this far because of me/ Your songs suck’.” Because it’s unfair to make assumptions, let’s just say that whomever he’s talking about is sadly mistaken. His songs don’t suck at all. Sun, Sun, Sun is his second full-length under the name the Elected, and it’s sure to impress fans of Elliott Smith and breezy, thoughtful country-tinged indie rock à la Okkervil River or even Bright Eyes. The arrangements throughout are perfect, providing more than a few hair-raising sing-along moments. Sennett’s guitar playing is technically sound and consistently inventive, too, just as it is in Rilo Kiley. He may not be as pretty as Ms. Lewis, but his side project sure is a lot better than hers.
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